HB1528, titled the America Works Act of 2025, would amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to tighten and standardize work requirements for able-bodied adults receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The bill narrows the categories of people exempt from the work requirement, specifying exemptions for individuals under 18 or over 65, those medically certified as unable to work, parents or household members responsible for a dependent child under age 7, other existing statutory exemptions, and pregnant women.
The bill also changes the waiver authority available to states. Under the proposal, the Secretary of Agriculture could waive the SNAP work requirement only when a state requests it, the governor supports the request, and the relevant county or county-equivalent has an unemployment rate above 10 percent. In addition, the bill would strike a subsection of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, making a conforming change to remove a related provision from current law.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would directly alter federal SNAP eligibility rules by reducing flexibility in work-requirement exemptions and limiting state waiver authority. It would affect able-bodied adults without dependents, state agencies administering SNAP, and households in areas with unemployment rates below the bill’s threshold, while preserving exemptions for certain vulnerable groups. The conforming amendment would also modify the interaction between this bill and the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 by removing a referenced subsection from that law.
Sentiment
The available context suggests the bill is a Republican-led effort focused on work requirements and program standardization, with no recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials. The bill’s sponsors indicate support for stricter participation rules in SNAP, and the absence of opposition statements or vote history means the broader sentiment cannot be measured from the supplied record. Its referral to the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture indicates it is still in the early committee stage.
Contention
The main point of contention is likely the balance between encouraging work and preserving access to nutrition assistance. Supporters appear to favor stricter, more uniform work rules and narrower waivers, while critics would likely argue that the bill could reduce access to benefits for low-income adults in areas with unemployment below 10 percent and limit state discretion to respond to local economic conditions. The unemployment-rate threshold for waivers and the reduced exemption categories are the most likely flashpoints.