States Sound Alarm over Ongoing SNAP Threats

Governors and coalition of local, county, state organizations urge Congressional fix

Washington, D.C. - Changes in funding policies for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP), combined with disruptions caused by the 2025 federal government shutdown, could put SNAP in jeopardy across the country if states and territories do not receive relief.

Annual SNAP expenditures could increase an average $218 million per state if Payment Error Rate (PER) data collected during the shutdown period is not excluded from future cost-sharing calculations.

Officials on the frontlines of SNAP benefits administration in multiple states detailed the impacts in a congressional briefing this week organized by a coalition including the National Governors Association (NGA), the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), the National Association of Counties (NACo), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the National Association of County Human Services Administrators (NACHSA), the National League of Cities (NLC), the International County/City Management Association (ICMA), the US Conference of Mayors (USCM), and The Council of State Governments (CSG).

The coalition sent a letter to congressional leadership last week calling for action in a January congressional resolution (CR).

"SNAP provides critical support to our most vulnerable residents, including children, the elderly, disabled individuals and their families," said Tiffany Waddell, NGA Director of Government Relations. "Governors from both parties are committed to administering SNAP accurately and efficiently, and states and territories are working diligently to implement new accountability measures passed through H.R. 1. The shutdown disrupted those efforts - jeopardizing ongoing investments in program integrity and endangering the future of SNAP. Unless Congress gives states more time to implement new requirements, states of all sizes will face massive budget impacts. There is a simple, bipartisan solution, and governors from both sides of the aisle urge Congress to work with them on shared goals of protecting taxpayer dollars and stabilizing SNAP."

Recent changes to SNAP under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1/P.L. 119-21) mandate new financial accountability measures tying new state benefit cost-sharing requirements to Payment Error Rates (PER) data collected during fall 2025 - a period of major policy change, delayed federal guidance, and shutdown-related disruption. As a result, current PER data does not reflect stable or fully implemented operations.

The financial implications are significant. Under H.R. 1, states with a PER above 6% will be responsible for between 5 to 15% of SNAP benefit costs. Using FY 2024 PER data, this represents an average of $218 million per state annually, with impacts ranging from approximately $5.5 million in North Dakota and $37 million in Hawaii to $991 million in Florida and $1.8 billion in California. Beginning in FY 2027, states will also be required to cover 75% of SNAP administrative costs, representing an additional average increase of $67 million per state each year. These impacts cut across states of all sizes and political affiliations and, if applied based on disrupted data, risk undermining ongoing investments in program integrity and ultimately the viability of the program.

In a letter to congressional leadership and a congressional briefing Jan. 13, the coalition urged Congress to adopt two simple fixes in the anticipated January Continuing Resolution:

• Delay the SNAP benefit and administrative cost shares for all states until FY 2030, using FY 2027 Quality Control (QC) data.
• Exclude October and November 2025 from the FY 2026 Quality Control (QC) sample and extend hold harmless for H.R. 1-related changes through January 31, 2026.

These requests are limited in scope, temporary in nature, and designed to support accurate implementation of federal law while protecting program integrity and taxpayer dollars. They would allow states and counties to stabilize operations, continue investing in program integrity, and partner effectively with USDA to achieve shared goals.

View highlights from the congressional briefing, and learn more about how governors worked to mitigate shutdown-driven disruptions to SNAP.