Fact check: How would the 2025 continuing resolution have impacted SNAP benefit levels, eligibility, or state waivers compared with FY2024?

1. The headline claim: Work rules sharpened and waivers narrowed — what that really says

The primary, recurring claim across sources is that the 2025 continuing resolution expands SNAP work requirements to include able‑bodied adults up to age 64 and constrains states’ ability to waive those rules, which would directly affect millions of participants. That claim is stated plainly in program briefs and advocacy Q&As noting the statutory language expands the population subject to time limits and restricts waivers that previously allowed states to exempt individuals during high unemployment or limited job availability periods. The effect described is measurable: analysts estimate 2.0–2.9 million participants could be affected by the new time‑limit and waiver provisions under the CR’s framework ^[1]. This is a policy change focused on eligibility conditions rather than an immediate per‑person benefit cut.

2. Dollars on paper: CBO’s projection of program savings and downstream benefit impacts

Fiscal scoring from the Congressional Budget Office projects that the package will reduce SNAP outlays by $186 billion between 2025 and 2034, with cuts that begin modestly and grow over time—about 7% in 2026 and rising to roughly 24% by 2034. Those are program‑level savings estimates, not a line‑item per‑person benefit reduction, but in practice they imply fewer people receiving benefits, shortened benefit durations, greater churn, and pressure on monthly benefit adequacy as caseloads and administrative costs shift. The CBO numbers frame the CR as a long‑run fiscal tightening that will reduce the program’s scale and transfer value to the food retail and farm sectors that rely on SNAP demand ^[2]. The projection dates (published in October 2025) are central to understanding timing and magnitude ^[2].

3. What the CR does not do: No immediate change to the benefit formula — but indirect effects matter

Multiple sources emphasize that the continuing resolution does not directly alter the statutory SNAP benefit formula used to calculate monthly allotments or the income/asset eligibility thresholds in a direct line in FY2025 text. Congressional Research Service material and USDA administrative memos show SNAP’s core benefit calculation remains governed by existing law and the Thrifty Food Plan adjustments unless separately amended ^[3]. However, because the CR changes who is subject to time limits and narrows waiver authority, many households face quicker exits from the program or fewer months of continuity, which translates into practical reductions in benefit receipt even without changing the dollar formula. That distinction—no immediate per‑household rate cut on paper, but meaningful declines in access in practice—is essential.

4. State exemptions and administrative levers: How waivers and discretionary exemptions shift the balance

Administrative documents for FY2025 allocations show states operate under a capped pool of discretionary exemptions for ABAWDs and that the Fiscal Responsibility Act already reduced exemptions and limited carryover beginning with FY2026. The CR’s tighter waiver rules interact with these administrative limits, meaning states with higher caseloads or fewer local jobs will have less flexibility to prevent eligible people from cycling off benefits. USDA memoranda and allocation tables make clear the total exemptions available for FY2025 are adjusted by caseload changes and prior use, and the CR further constrains waiver use—so states will likely face harder choices between expanding workforce services or allowing more terminations ^{[4] [5]}.

5. Real‑time operational shock: Shutdown disruptions that interrupted benefit flows

Beyond statutory changes, immediate payment disruptions stemming from a government shutdown introduced a separate, acute risk to recipients. USDA notices and reporting in late October 2025 warned that federal food aid payments would not go out on November 1, putting millions at risk of missing benefit issuance and creating urgent shortfalls unrelated to the statutory mechanics of the CR. Lawmakers and advocates responded with emergency legislative proposals to cover benefit continuity, underscoring that policy changes and shutdowns interact—a package that tightens eligibility while operations stall magnifies hardship even for people who remain technically eligible ^{[6] [7] [8]}.

6. Bottom line — Two mechanisms, one outcome: narrower access now, smaller program later

The continuing resolution operates through two distinct mechanisms that together reduce SNAP’s reach: rule changes that narrow eligibility duration and waiver use (affecting millions nominally), and budgetary savings that CBO expects will compress program size over a decade. There is no immediate statutory change to the benefit calculation in FY2025 text, but the combined administrative and fiscal effects mean fewer people will receive benefits, for shorter periods, and with greater disruption when federal operations are interrupted. Policymakers debating remedies frame the changes either as fiscal stewardship and work incentives or as policies that will increase food insecurity and administrative burdens; both viewpoints are grounded in the same administrative and fiscal evidence presented here ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}.