Republicans' Absurd Food Benefit Policy Could Reward States Who Waste Money

A plan to make states share the cost of food benefits got warped by an apparent effort to win over Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska.).

WASHINGTON — When the government announced Monday that 10% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were paid in error last year, Republicans proudly declared that they were on top of the problem.

“This is exactly why we need to get the One Big Beautiful Bill to the President’s desk,” the top Republicans on committees overseeing SNAP said in a joint statement. “Its historic reforms will give states skin in the game on SNAP benefits and ensure they have a real incentive to improve oversight and stop improper payments before they happen.”

But a funny thing happened to the Big Beautiful Bill before the Senate passed it on Tuesday. In an apparent effort to win over Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the provision cracking down on erroneous SNAP payments was changed so that states with the highest error rates, such as Alaska, would be exempt for one or two years.

“Did we make some changes in the SNAP provisions that will allow for a delay, that will allow for greater flexibility to the state? Absolutely,” Murkowski told reporters after the vote, explaining why she voted for a bill she doesn’t like.

Forcing states to share the cost of SNAP benefits would fundamentally alter the program, giving states strong incentives to cut enrollment. It was the most aggressive SNAP cut in the original House version of the Big Beautiful Bill; the Senate version would allow states to avoid the burden entirely by keeping their error rates beneath 6%.