To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to exclude as income certain payments received by household members from certain employment programs, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Training and Nutrition Stability Act of 2025 changes the rules for SNAP (food stamps) so that money earned from certain job training and employment programs doesn't count as income when determining who qualifies for food assistance and how much they receive. This includes income from SNAP's own employment and training programs, vocational rehabilitation programs, and refugee employment programs. However, income from certain veteran education programs (like the Post-9/11 GI Bill) is still counted.
Who Benefits and How
Low-income individuals participating in employment and training programs benefit most from this bill. Currently, when SNAP recipients earn money from job training programs, that income reduces their food assistance benefits or can disqualify them entirely. This bill removes that penalty, allowing people in training programs to keep their full SNAP benefits while earning a modest income. Workforce development organizations and training providers also benefit because participants will face fewer financial disincentives to join their programs. Refugees participating in employment programs will similarly receive higher SNAP benefits while working to become self-sufficient.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal taxpayers bear the cost of increased SNAP spending, as more people will qualify for benefits and existing recipients will receive larger monthly amounts. State agencies that administer SNAP face new administrative burdens to track which types of employment program income should be excluded and which should be counted, particularly regarding the exceptions for veteran programs. Veterans in GI Bill programs do not benefit from this exclusion and continue to have their education-related income counted against their SNAP eligibility.
Key Provisions
- Excludes income from SNAP employment and training programs from benefit calculations, so participants can earn money while maintaining full food assistance
- Excludes income from vocational rehabilitation programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
- Excludes income from refugee employment programs authorized under the Immigration and Nationality Act
- Maintains income counting rules for veteran education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, and the COVID-19 Veterans Rapid Retraining Assistance Program
- Makes technical conforming amendments to other sections of the Food and Nutrition Act to reflect these changes
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Excludes certain income from employment and training programs from being counted when determining SNAP (food stamp) eligibility and benefit amounts
Who Benefits
- SNAP recipients participating in employment and training programs
- SNAP recipients in vocational rehabilitation programs
- Refugee SNAP recipients in employment programs
Who Bears Costs
- Federal taxpayers (increased SNAP expenditures)
- USDA (administrative costs for implementing new income exclusion rules)
Key Policy Areas
Social Welfare, Nutrition Assistance, Employment & Training
Primary Purpose
Excludes certain income from employment and training programs from being counted when determining SNAP (food stamp) eligibility and benefit amounts
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Increase SNAP benefits for low-income individuals participating in employment and training programs by excluding their training-related income from benefit calculations"
Identified Gains
- SNAP recipients participating in employment and training programs
- SNAP recipients in vocational rehabilitation programs
- Refugee SNAP recipients in employment programs
- Workforce development organizations and training providers
Identified Costs
- Federal taxpayers (increased SNAP expenditures)
- USDA (administrative costs for implementing new income exclusion rules)
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMrs. Gillibrand (for herself and Mr. Ricketts) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Federal taxpayers (increased SNAP spending), Refugee SNAP recipients in employment programs, SNAP recipients in vocational rehabilitation programs
Positive-direction: Refugee SNAP recipients in employment programs, SNAP recipients in vocational rehabilitation programs
Negative-direction: Federal taxpayers (increased SNAP spending)
State SNAP agencies (administrative burden)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "administering_agency"
- → U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Income from: (1) work programs under WIOA section 6(o)(1) except certain veteran programs, (2) employment and training programs under section 6(d), (3) vocational rehabilitation programs under WIOA, and (4) refugee employment programs under INA section 412(c)
Income from veteran work programs IS counted (excluded from the exclusion): Post-9/11 GI Bill Improvements Act of 2010, Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, COVID-19 Veterans Rapid Retraining Assistance Program
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology