Trump's proposed changes to food stamps could affect 3.7 million Americans

Roughly 3.7 million fewer people could receive food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) if the Trump administration's proposed restrictions are implemented, a recent Urban Institute study found.

What they found: Households in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington state and Texas would be disproportionately affected by the restrictions.

• SNAP participation would fall by at least 15% in 13 states, and 24% in Washington, D.C.
• Almost 75% of households with gross income above 130% of the federal poverty guidelines would lose SNAP eligibility.
• Roughly half a million households with children would lose eligibility, and 1.1 million would incur an average of $28 less in benefits.
• 1 million households with children would have an average of $13 more in benefits.

What they're saying: A bipartisan coalition of 70 mayors stated their "strong opposition" to the administration's proposed restrictions in August, warning changes to the program would harm local and regional economies.

Background: The administration has proposed three core SNAP restrictions:

1. Limiting states' ability to request time limit waivers for able-bodied adults.
2. Tightening residents' ability to become automatically eligible for food stamps if they receive benefits from another federal program.
3. Setting uniform standard utility allowances.

Methodology: The study measured the possible effects of Trump's proposed regulations on households from 2018.

Go deeper: Trump administration plans to take 3M Americans off food stamps