The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board: Food Stamp Rolls Are Declining

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board: Food Stamp Rolls Are Declining

WASHINGTON, D.C. -An opinion piece published by the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board highlights how Republican-led reforms to restore accountability and prioritize work in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are reducing reliance on the social safety net and ensuring the program is a bridge to independence, not a destination.

WORD ON THE STREET

From the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board:

Four million Americans have left food stamps over the past year, despite the media spin about supposed GOP cruelty.

The Trump Administration's Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins noted recently that "we now have moved 4.3 million Americans off of the food stamp program," known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The press reaction is that Republicans in their big budget bill last year imposed onerous requirements and are depriving the vulnerable of grocery help.

But the food-stamp program is now returning to the levels of the bad old days of . . . 2019. Some 42.8 million Americans were enrolled in the program in January 2025, which is more than 12% of the U.S. population. The figure in January 2026 was 38.5 million.

The Foundation for Government Accountability, relying on more recent data, notes a 12% decrease in the rolls in Virginia, 6% in North Carolina and 10% in Kansas. The flight from welfare is especially notable since progressive states have been trying to dodge the work requirements via waivers and other gimmicks. California's requirement doesn't even go into effect until this month.

The Administration also deserves credit for going after fraud and waste. The Agriculture Department ferreted data from 28 states and says it found nearly 186,000 dead recipients. Some 355,000 recipients were enrolled in more than one state. States historically haven't had incentive to police the program since the feds pay the bills. But the GOP budget bill will soon force states with high error rates to pick up part of the tab.

These are sensible and welcome changes that 20 years ago would have been supported by both parties. The press treats every departure from welfare as a tragedy, but the real regret is that welfare programs have become permanent entitlements that too often erode the work ethic and breed a culture of dependency on government.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Since 2019, the overall cost of SNAP has increased by 83 percent, from $60 billion in 2019 to over $110 billion today-far outpacing the 17 percent growth in SNAP caseloads and the rate of inflation over that same period.

The One Big Beautiful Bill strengthened the 20-hour-per-week work requirement for able-bodied adults, encouraging work, job training, and education. It also closed loopholes that some states used to completely waive work requirements for able-bodied adults, protecting the integrity of SNAP while promoting self-sufficiency to create a thriving economy full of employed workers.

Additionally, the One Big Beautiful Bill requires states with high payment error rates to modestly contribute to the SNAP program, beginning in 2027. This serves as incentivization for states to be more efficient administrators.