In a letter to the USDA, the senators assert that the Trump Administration's plan is duplicative of existing programs rules, increases red tape, and will unnecessarily inhibit access to SNAP benefits
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research, and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry led 30 of their colleagues, to press U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins on the USDA’s plan to have all beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) “reapply” for their benefits.
“We write to express serious concerns and request further details about the plan by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to have all beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) 'reapply' for their benefits,” the senators wrote to Secretary Rollins. “These changes appear to be duplicative of existing SNAP rules and designed to create more red tape for families seeking to put food on the table.”
“This reapplication requirement comes after repeated efforts to deny Americans in need of essential nutrition assistance,” the senators continued. “In addition to unprecedented cuts to SNAP enacted earlier this summer, decisions to disrupt food assistance during the shutdown have created additional uncertainty. We are therefore troubled that the Administration could choose, at this moment, to add additional red tape that creates duplicative and unnecessary barriers to accessing nutrition assistance for families.”
The letter is led by Luján and Klobuchar. Alongside Heinrich, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Chuck Shumer (D-N.Y.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).
Last week, Heinrich joined Luján, Klobuchar, and the entire Senate Democratic Caucus to introduce legislation that will repeal Republicans' cuts to SNAP made in Trump's Big, Bad Bill. During Trump's government shutdown, Heinrich joined Luján to introduce legislation that prevents the Trump Administration from illegally withholding available funds for SNAP and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
The full text of the letter is below and can be found here.
Dear Secretary Rollins,
We write to express serious concerns and request further details about the plan by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to have all beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) “reapply” for their benefits. These changes appear to be duplicative of existing SNAP rules and designed to create more red tape for families seeking to put food on the table.
SNAP benefits are provided pursuant to existing statute passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. Under these SNAP rules, states are generally required to certify SNAP households for a period of not more than 1 year. All Americans who receive SNAP must be recertified by states to verify that they continue to qualify for SNAP on a regular basis. Additionally, SNAP rules prohibit states from ending a household’s certification period early unless the household has become ineligible. Introducing further roadblocks for SNAP beneficiaries, most of whom are children, the elderly, or disabled, is unnecessary and unwarranted.
This reapplication requirement comes after repeated efforts to deny Americans in need of essential nutrition assistance. In addition to unprecedented cuts to SNAP enacted earlier this summer, decisions to disrupt food assistance during the shutdown have created additional uncertainty. We are therefore troubled that the Administration could choose, at this moment, to add additional red tape that creates duplicative and unnecessary barriers to accessing nutrition assistance for families.
With millions of Americans, including children, at risk of losing access to nutritious foods, we strongly support efforts to ensure the SNAP program is working efficiently and reaching beneficiaries consistent with the law. We therefore request responses to the following questions by December 1, 2025:
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
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