Article Summary – This piece explains how the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” is tightening SNAP work requirements and what that means for veterans and military families.
-Able-bodied adults 19–64 without kids must now log at least 80 hours a month in work, training, or approved service, while some exemptions for homeless people, vets, and foster-care youth are being peeled back.
U.S. Army training. Image Credit: DoD
-Seniors, minors, the disabled, pregnant women, and some caregivers remain protected.
-Supporters frame the shift as cracking down on fraud and boosting self-reliance; critics warn that the working poor will lose benefits.
-Governors and National Guard units are scrambling to fill gaps by partnering with food banks.
Changes to SNAP May Affect Military Families and Veterans
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known colloquially as “food stamps,” are undergoing a transformation. SNAP monies will still be transferred, but there will soon be a more robust “work requirement” in December as a result of President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).”
As a result, fewer Americans may qualify for SNAP benefits in the future. There are currently about 42 million poverty-stricken people who depend on SNAP each month to put food on the table.
What About Veterans and Military Personnel?
States are now scrambling to interpret the OBBBA provisions and determine who will receive SNAP food items and who will not. This change affects military families and veterans, too.
“About 1.2 million veterans are enrolled now, according to the National Council on Aging. More than 20,000 military families, 213,000 National Guard and Reserve members, and more than 1 million veterans, rely on such benefits, according to Veteran.com,” Military.com wrote.
More People Must Prove They Are Working, Volunteering, or Training
SNAP awardees will continue to follow the “Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents” rule. Single adults who are not disabled or do not have children must be working or looking for work and should be in a training program if unemployed. The OBBBA now requires more people to meet these requirements.
If you are between the ages of 19 and 64 and do not have children, you must “complete at least 80 hours of qualifying activity each month. Those hours can come from paid or unpaid work, volunteering, community service, participation in SNAP Employment & Training programs, or a combination of these. The law also removes other exemptions for homeless individuals, veterans and young adults who aged out of foster care at age 24 or younger,” according to Newsweek.
British Royal Air Force Regiment troop cycles M500 Shotgun at the Winston P. Wilson (WPW) and 27th Armed Forces Skill at Arms Meet (AFSAM) at Robinson Maneuver Training Center, Ark, 2018. The annual events, hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center (NGMTC), offer Servicemembers from the National Guard and international community an opportunity to test marksmanship skills in a battle-focused environment.
Some People Are Exempt from Work Provisions
People 65 and older and those under 18 do not have to meet these requirements. There are also provisions for pregnant women and people who cannot work because of disabilities to receive SNAP. Some of those in drug rehabilitation programs, or people living on Native-American reservations, and caregivers can still be eligible for the food benefits.
The Democrat-Republican Divide
The new SNAP provisions have polarized social workers and politicians—some who believe that poor people will go hungry and Conservatives who think the system is rife with waste, fraud, and abuse from people who can readily find jobs and provide for themselves.
“There will be significant impacts for many who are working or seeking work but cannot find it. First, many who are actually working will be at significant risk of being cut off SNAP. Many SNAP participants work in unstable, low-paid jobs that have unpredictable hours and no benefits such as paid sick leave. The volatility of these jobs means that workers are more frequently underemployed and may struggle to consistently document 20 hours per week of work, increasing the risk that they are cut off SNAP by the three-month time limit,” according to Cindy Long, former deputy undersecretary for Food Nutrition and Consumer Services at the USDA and national adviser at professional services firm Manatt, in an interview with Newsweek.
House Speaker Believes Time of ‘Cheating’ Is Over
Republicans such as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson believe that some people are “cheating the system.”
Johnson especially singles out able-bodied young men and encourages them to find jobs rather than rely on SNAP benefits. This allows for greater individual dignity and upward mobility, and sharpens the skills needed for a lifetime of employment rather than a long road to government over-dependence.
To address waste, fraud, and abuse, recipients are required to re-register for the program. The USDA believes some people are receiving more than one SNAP benefit payment per month and are doing other things to abuse the government’s generosity.
Military veterans with disabilities would be exempt from work requirements, but those with prior military service may still be waiting for VA benefits.
A veteran’s disability designation can sometimes take a year or more.
Plus, some military families have only one parent who is receiving a salary through service. It is sometimes tricky for married partners to get a job on a military installation or at their station, and they must use SNAP benefits to get by. Those military members married with children would be exempt from the new SNAP requirements.
It is unclear whether Members of Congress and the White House considered these problems. Governors are being proactive, though. National Guard members in several states have been mobilized to run food banks to ensure no one who is now ineligible for SNAP goes hungry.
Poor states like West Virginia, Mississippi, and New Mexico have high proportions of their populations receiving federal aid.
The changes to SNAP are significant, but Republicans have aimed to target waste, fraud, and abuse in the program for years and believe that some people can find a job and stay off government assistance.
This is exemplified by U.S. Senators like South Carolina’s Tim Scott, who believes that federal aid programs are necessary, but an “opportunity zone” economy can allow people to leave the perpetual government assistance network and pursue a path toward self-sustainability for their families.
About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood
Author of now over 3,000 articles on defense issues, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
