Proposed federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will "drive Wisconsinites into hunger" and harm the state's economy, according to new analysis.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) said the state would lose some $314 million in food assistance from the federal government under the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which passed the House of Representatives last week.
The budget legislation exceeds 1,000 pages and contains some of the most significant changes to SNAP eligibility and benefits in recent years. Some $300 billion is earmarked to be cut from the nationwide anti-poverty program.
Wisconsin, which President Donald Trump won in the 2024 presidential election by less than one percent, has swung in recent elections between Republican and Democrat. All six of Wisconsin's Republican representatives voted for the bill, while the state's two Democratic House members voted against.
SNAP provides benefits for low- and no-income households across the country. In Wisconsin, more than 700,000 people rely on food stamp payments to buy groceries. Benefits are funded by the federal government and administered by state and local governments.
The legislation, which is now being considered in the Senate, includes demands for increased state financial participation, expanded work requirements, and restricted exemptions for some families.
In its analysis, the Wisconsin DHS said that shifting some of the benefit costs to the state would cost it more than $200 million per year. Under the bill, states would begin paying at least five percent of food benefit costs in the fiscal year 2028, which could reach up to 25 percent if they have high erroneous payment rates.
"Wisconsin has one of the lowest payment error rates in the nation, but DHS estimates this provision would require Wisconsin to pay 15 percent of benefit costs," the report states.
"In combination with other proposals changing how error rates are measured, Wisconsin would be on the hook for $207 million annually."
Implementing new work requirements, which would mandate able-bodied beneficiaries without dependents to demonstrate 80 hours of paid or voluntary work per month, would cost Wisconsin $44 million per year.
The DHS estimates that some 90,000 people would lose access to their benefits if the cuts are enacted.
Despite Trump's narrow election win in Wisconsin last year, there are some indicators that the tide is turning in the state.
Earlier this year, Democrat-backed county judge Susan Crawford was elected to Wisconsin's Supreme Court, despite Trump and Elon Musk both giving their backing to her opponent Brad Schimel.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin Representative Derrick Van Orden, a Republican, who has previously said he opposes any cuts to the SNAP program, voted in favor of the GOP budget last week.
He said the bill would restore "integrity in the SNAP program by holding states accountable for their error rates and ensuring benefits are directed to those who need it most."
Bill Hanna, Medicaid director at Wisconsin DHS said last week: "There's going to be more demand to put state money into a program that has been 100 percent federally funded for really its entire existence, which will strain the state's ability to put its state dollars towards other things like education, our health care system and other important aspects of what we do with our state dollars."
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank, reported in March: "Mandating that states pay even a small share of SNAP food benefit costs would hit state budgets hard at a time when many states are facing revenue downturns. States are not in a position to absorb these substantial additional costs. In fiscal year 2024, tax revenue fell in 40 states after adjusting for inflation, and many states are projecting budget shortfalls in the short and long term."
Republican Wisconsin Representative Van Orden said on the passage of the budget bill: "As the Democrats spent time fearmongering with lies that this bill will cut benefits, Republicans got the job done by delivering tax savings and benefit protections for the American people."
Trump told reporters last week: "The cut is going to give everybody much more food because prices are coming way down, groceries are down."
The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" will now advance to the Senate, where further negotiations and possible amendments are expected before any changes to SNAP or other programs become law.