Proposed cuts to SNAP food benefits could cost Michigan nearly $900 million

A spending bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last month that proposes cuts to federal food aid could end up costing Michigan nearly $900 million, according to a memo released by the State Budget Office this week.

The Republican-led Big, Beautiful Bill Act would reduce federal spending by $290 billion to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, by shifting costs to states and rolling out new work requirements.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, criticized the bill when her office released a report Wednesday, June 4 that estimates how this proposal would impact food assistance in Michigan.

“If these cuts are signed into law, more Michiganders will go to bed hungry. That’s unacceptable. We should be making it easier for families to afford the essentials, like food and health care, not harder,” Whitmer said in a statement.

Related: Budget bill impacts SNAP food benefits for thousands in Michigan

The federal government currently pays for SNAP, a key anti-hunger program that provides 42 million low-income Americans including nearly 1.5 million Michiganders with food assistance. But the spending bill, which passed the House with a 215-214 vote along party lines, would require states to cover a portion of SNAP costs for the first time.

Under the bill, all states would be required to pay a minimum 5% of the program costs, which adds up to about $4.7 billion collectively. But states that have higher error rates, between 6% and 10%, would need to shoulder more of the costs.

The State Budget Office estimates this cost-share proposal would have an $800 million impact a year in Michigan plus $90 million in administrative costs.

This policy could lead to fewer people getting food benefits as states struggle to shoulder the extra costs, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and could prompt some states to leave the SNAP program altogether.

Another major change in the bill would require more SNAP recipients to work to qualify for food benefits.

Currently, adults ages 18 to 54 without dependent children need to work at least 80 hours a month to get SNAP benefits for more than three months during a three-year period.

Under the new plan, work requirements would be expanded to adults up to 64 years old plus parents of children between the ages of 7 and 18. Additionally, states wouldn’t be able to waive the work requirement unless counties have an unemployment rate above 10%.

Related: Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill will add $3.8 trillion to deficit, cut benefits for millions

The Congressional Budget Office estimates these provisions would lead to an average of 3.2 million people no longer getting SNAP benefits each month.

In Michigan, these changes would put an estimated 52,000 older adults and 252,000 people living in households with young children at risk of losing their food benefits, according to progressive think tank the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, unless they meet work requirements.

Some Michigan food banks are also concerned these changes could create more food insecurity across the state – at a time when federal aid has already been cut and families are feeling the strain of higher grocery prices.

“We have experienced very high levels of need for food assistance for the past several years, and the potential increase in need because of these budget cuts could well exceed our ability to provide food to everyone in need,” said Ken Estelle, president and CEO of Feeding America West Michigan.

The proposed changes are part of a broader effort from the Trump administration to cut federal spending.

An New York Times op-ed written by four Trump officials last month says “too many able-bodied adults on welfare are not working at all” and benefits programs have become “a lifelong trap of dependency.”

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn Thompson, a Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, said at a May 21 committee hearing the savings will “restore integrity to the SNAP program and preserve the program’s ability to serve the most vulnerable long into the future.”

The spending bill will next head to the U.S. Senate, where it will likely undergo changes, with Republican leadership reportedly aiming to get a final version to President Donald Trump by July 4.