Following the release of the Senate’s revised Farm Bill, I wanted to share the following perspective from Cato Institute fiscal policy expert Romina Boccia on its proposed delay of state accountability requirements for improper SNAP payments.

More than one in every ten SNAP dollars, or $10.1 billion, was improperly paid in fiscal year 2025. Last year’s reconciliation bill sought to strengthen accountability by requiring states with improper-payment rates above 6 percent to cover a portion of the benefits they distribute. The revised Farm Bill would postpone those requirements until fiscal year 2029 to secure political support for additional farm subsidies.

As Boccia puts it, “The Senate’s revised Farm Bill text continues Congress’s ‘dessert first, spinach later’ approach to budgeting: promise savings later while spending more today. Once Congress establishes a precedent for delaying accountability, it becomes easier to delay it again, or for a future Congress to abandon the measure altogether.”

You can find recent Cato analysis on trading SNAP accountability for farm subsidies here, the program’s $10 billion in improper payments here, and broader welfare-program integrity reforms here. If you’re interested in speaking with Romina about the Farm Bill, SNAP payment errors, farm subsidies, or federal spending, I’m happy to connect you.