Big cuts are still likely on the way to the federal food stamps, but the U.S. Senate has rolled back some of the more aggressive work requirements the U.S. House was trying to add to the program. Those changes would have forced parents with kids as young as seven to work 20 hours a week even if they didn’t have access to child care.

The “big, beautiful bill” being pushed by the Trump administration still slashes $186 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the next eight years — the biggest reduction in U.S. history.

Republicans in the House and Senate have justified the cuts by saying they are trying to tackle waste and abuse in the program and make sure able-bodied adults are working for the food assistance. About 3 million Texans receive food through SNAP.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the changes will result in more than two million people nationwide being cut from the SNAP program, and millions more could see reduced benefits.

The work requirements are at the heart of the changes. To qualify for SNAP, people already have to prove they are working 20 hours a week, volunteering or seeking a job. But parents with children under 18, adults over the age of 54 and people living in areas with high unemployment can be exempted from that requirement.

The proposed changes would require people up to 65 to meet the work requirements or lose their benefits. And parents with children over 13 will now have to also meet it. The original House version would have required parents with children as young as seven to meet the work rules, even if they didn’t have access to childcare. Both the House and Senate versions no longer exempt people in Texas who are in areas without available jobs.

Democrats like U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, call the bill cruel for increasing the national debt and still cutting food assistance to the most needy Texans.

“They are literally taking food from the mouths of children, seniors and veterans to give tax breaks to billionaires,” Garcia said.

In Texas, to qualify for SNAP currently, a family of four has to earn less than $4,125 each month — about $49,500 a year. The maximum benefit for a family of four is $973 per month, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

If the House agrees to the Senate version by Friday, it would go to Trump for his final signature, making the changes to SNAP law.

Here’s the latest from the fight on Capitol Hill.

Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter jeremy.wallace@houstonchronicle.com

Who's Up, Who's Down

A daily stock market-style report on key players in Texas politics.

Up: Ted Cruz.

When the Senate voted out the “big, beautiful bill” on Tuesday, it had three major provisions from the Texas senator. One will be a massive expansion of tax credits to help parents send their children to private schools. Another sets aside $1,000 at birth for every American newborn starting this year to invest on Wall Street that can later be used to help them go to college, start a business or buy a home. And finally, he was the author of the no tax on tips provision that President Trump has been calling for since last year.

Down: Fiscal Hawks.

In order to do everything President Trump wanted out of the “big beautiful bill,” the Senate had to add $500 billion in new spending that the U.S. will have to borrow to cover. It’s why U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who grew up in Texas, said he refused to vote for the legislation. “This bill will lead to a much greater deficit over time,” he said. “Without question, this is not a fiscally conservative bill.” As reporter James Osborne wrote, it once again puts U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, on a hot seat as he pushes back against adding to the deficit, while Trump increases pressure on the House to accept the final package. 

What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.

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