Katie Bergh
@katiebergh.bsky.social
SNAP/WIC/Child Nutrition at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Come for the corgi pictures, stay for the food assistance policy.
After enacting the deepest #SNAP cuts in history & needlessly disrupting benefits during the shutdown, the Trump Administration is quietly advancing draft regulations to take SNAP away from millions more people – primarily working families with kids, seniors & disabled people.
November 19, 2025 at 7:45 PM
After enacting the deepest #SNAP cuts in history & needlessly disrupting benefits during the shutdown, the Trump Administration is quietly advancing draft regulations to take SNAP away from millions more people – primarily working families with kids, seniors & disabled people.
On Friday, USDA reiterated that states were required to implement many of the megabill's SNAP cuts—major changes impacting millions of people—on the day it became law, with a grace period that ended 11/1. States won't get more time before they start being penalized for errors.
November 17, 2025 at 4:39 PM
On Friday, USDA reiterated that states were required to implement many of the megabill's SNAP cuts—major changes impacting millions of people—on the day it became law, with a grace period that ended 11/1. States won't get more time before they start being penalized for errors.
Our analysis of new information from CBO today: The harmful Republican megabill will result in about 4 million people, including 1 million kids, seeing their food assistance terminated or cut substantially. Some states could even end #SNAP entirely.
cbo.gov/system/files...
cbo.gov/system/files...
August 11, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Our analysis of new information from CBO today: The harmful Republican megabill will result in about 4 million people, including 1 million kids, seeing their food assistance terminated or cut substantially. Some states could even end #SNAP entirely.
cbo.gov/system/files...
cbo.gov/system/files...
CBO has indicated 900,000 low-income adults aged 55 through 64 will lose food assistance under the expansion of SNAP's harsh work requirement to older adults.
Older workers face employment discrimination & half of low-income adults in this age range face health barriers to work.
Older workers face employment discrimination & half of low-income adults in this age range face health barriers to work.
July 2, 2025 at 1:42 PM
CBO has indicated 900,000 low-income adults aged 55 through 64 will lose food assistance under the expansion of SNAP's harsh work requirement to older adults.
Older workers face employment discrimination & half of low-income adults in this age range face health barriers to work.
Older workers face employment discrimination & half of low-income adults in this age range face health barriers to work.
Smiling because he doesn’t know what a reconciliation bill is
June 29, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Smiling because he doesn’t know what a reconciliation bill is
Releasing an unfinished bill full of typos is a good sign that you're rushing to pass a deeply harmful and unpopular bill before your constituents realize what is in it and perhaps you should reconsider what you are doing.
June 28, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Releasing an unfinished bill full of typos is a good sign that you're rushing to pass a deeply harmful and unpopular bill before your constituents realize what is in it and perhaps you should reconsider what you are doing.
This is CBO, Congress's non-partisan official scorekeeper, describing how states would react to Republicans' plan to slash federal $ for #SNAP & impose those costs as an unfunded mandate on states.
Some states may end a program that puts food on the table for 1 in 5 kids in this country.
Some states may end a program that puts food on the table for 1 in 5 kids in this country.
June 23, 2025 at 9:26 PM
This is CBO, Congress's non-partisan official scorekeeper, describing how states would react to Republicans' plan to slash federal $ for #SNAP & impose those costs as an unfunded mandate on states.
Some states may end a program that puts food on the table for 1 in 5 kids in this country.
Some states may end a program that puts food on the table for 1 in 5 kids in this country.
Just how restrictive is a >10% unemployment rate requirement? Currently, only 10 counties in the entire country meet that threshold. Within the first year of the Great Recession, fewer than 400 counties out of over 3,000 across the country had unemployment rates above 10%.
June 13, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Just how restrictive is a >10% unemployment rate requirement? Currently, only 10 counties in the entire country meet that threshold. Within the first year of the Great Recession, fewer than 400 counties out of over 3,000 across the country had unemployment rates above 10%.
More than 2 million kids in low-income families would see their food assistance cut substantially or terminated altogether under House Republicans' unprecedented & extreme cuts to #SNAP.
June 11, 2025 at 7:06 PM
More than 2 million kids in low-income families would see their food assistance cut substantially or terminated altogether under House Republicans' unprecedented & extreme cuts to #SNAP.
SNAP helps to ensure 1 in 5 kids in this country have the food they need to learn, grow, and thrive.
House Republicans' extreme & unprecedented SNAP cuts would substantially cut or terminate food assistance for more than 2 million kids.
House Republicans' extreme & unprecedented SNAP cuts would substantially cut or terminate food assistance for more than 2 million kids.
June 9, 2025 at 4:19 PM
SNAP helps to ensure 1 in 5 kids in this country have the food they need to learn, grow, and thrive.
House Republicans' extreme & unprecedented SNAP cuts would substantially cut or terminate food assistance for more than 2 million kids.
House Republicans' extreme & unprecedented SNAP cuts would substantially cut or terminate food assistance for more than 2 million kids.
The House reconciliation bill would cut #SNAP by nearly $300 billion—roughly 30%—which would be the deepest cut to food assistance in history.
The result:
The result:
June 6, 2025 at 9:51 PM
The House reconciliation bill would cut #SNAP by nearly $300 billion—roughly 30%—which would be the deepest cut to food assistance in history.
The result:
The result:
An overarching theme of House Republicans' reconciliation bill: creating massive paperwork boondoggles in order to take food, health care & other assistance away from millions of people who need it.
Who voted for more red tape?
Who voted for more red tape?
June 4, 2025 at 9:16 PM
An overarching theme of House Republicans' reconciliation bill: creating massive paperwork boondoggles in order to take food, health care & other assistance away from millions of people who need it.
Who voted for more red tape?
Who voted for more red tape?
This bill would virtually eliminate waivers based on local labor market conditions, cutting people off #SNAP after 3 months even if there aren't jobs where they live. This would make SNAP far less responsive in a weak economy & undermine its role as a vital economic stimulus.
May 28, 2025 at 7:34 PM
This bill would virtually eliminate waivers based on local labor market conditions, cutting people off #SNAP after 3 months even if there aren't jobs where they live. This would make SNAP far less responsive in a weak economy & undermine its role as a vital economic stimulus.
Research shows #SNAP's harsh work requirement doesn't increase employment, it just increases hunger. And most of the people who would be subject to this policy under the bill are working or temporarily between jobs. But workers are still at risk of being cut off food assistance.
May 28, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Research shows #SNAP's harsh work requirement doesn't increase employment, it just increases hunger. And most of the people who would be subject to this policy under the bill are working or temporarily between jobs. But workers are still at risk of being cut off food assistance.
The bill House Republicans passed last week would be the deepest cut to #SNAP in history. Our new paper explains the 4 ways this bill would take food assistance away from low-income people, including families with kids, seniors, and people with disabilities. Link below ⤵️
May 28, 2025 at 7:34 PM
The bill House Republicans passed last week would be the deepest cut to #SNAP in history. Our new paper explains the 4 ways this bill would take food assistance away from low-income people, including families with kids, seniors, and people with disabilities. Link below ⤵️
Under the House Ag bill, only 10 counties would still qualify for a waiver of SNAP's harsh work requirement. Many rural communities with limited job opportunities would lose their waivers. People who are looking for a job but can't find one would be cut off SNAP after 3 months.
May 15, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Under the House Ag bill, only 10 counties would still qualify for a waiver of SNAP's harsh work requirement. Many rural communities with limited job opportunities would lose their waivers. People who are looking for a job but can't find one would be cut off SNAP after 3 months.
Many SNAP participants work unstable, low-wage jobs that have unpredictable hours & no benefits like paid sick leave. SNAP's work requirement takes food away from workers who are between jobs, working inconsistent hours, or get tangled in the red tape of reporting work hours.
May 14, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Many SNAP participants work unstable, low-wage jobs that have unpredictable hours & no benefits like paid sick leave. SNAP's work requirement takes food away from workers who are between jobs, working inconsistent hours, or get tangled in the red tape of reporting work hours.
Waivers of SNAP's work requirement are vital because many unemployed workers need more than the 3-month limit to find a new job, especially when the economy is weaker. But even when the unemployment rate is <5%, 1 in 3 unemployed workers need 15 weeks or longer to find work.
May 14, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Waivers of SNAP's work requirement are vital because many unemployed workers need more than the 3-month limit to find a new job, especially when the economy is weaker. But even when the unemployment rate is <5%, 1 in 3 unemployed workers need 15 weeks or longer to find work.
House Republicans are explicitly trying to “flood the zone” so the public will have a harder time keeping track of what they’re doing to take food assistance and health coverage away from people.
May 2, 2025 at 12:30 AM
House Republicans are explicitly trying to “flood the zone” so the public will have a harder time keeping track of what they’re doing to take food assistance and health coverage away from people.
Budget reality check: There's no way to cut #SNAP by $230 billion—more than 20%—without taking food away from millions of low-income families. Claims that cuts of this magnitude can be made through “program integrity” changes that won’t hurt eligible people just don't add up.
May 1, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Budget reality check: There's no way to cut #SNAP by $230 billion—more than 20%—without taking food away from millions of low-income families. Claims that cuts of this magnitude can be made through “program integrity” changes that won’t hurt eligible people just don't add up.
Waivers of SNAP's work requirement are important because many unemployed workers need more than the 3-month limit to find a new job, especially when the economy is weaker. But even when the unemployment rate is <5%, 1 in 3 unemployed workers need 15 weeks or longer to find work.
April 30, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Waivers of SNAP's work requirement are important because many unemployed workers need more than the 3-month limit to find a new job, especially when the economy is weaker. But even when the unemployment rate is <5%, 1 in 3 unemployed workers need 15 weeks or longer to find work.
Under this proposal, only 10 counties in the country would qualify for a waiver. Currently waived areas experiencing challenges, like counties in eastern Kentucky hit by severe floods or rural communities in Maine hit hard by the loss of major employers, wouldn't qualify anymore.
April 30, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Under this proposal, only 10 counties in the country would qualify for a waiver. Currently waived areas experiencing challenges, like counties in eastern Kentucky hit by severe floods or rural communities in Maine hit hard by the loss of major employers, wouldn't qualify anymore.