ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL URGES CONGRESS TO RESTORE SNAP BENEFITS AND PROTECT FOOD ASSISTANCE IN FARM BILL

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL URGES CONGRESS TO RESTORE SNAP BENEFITS AND PROTECT FOOD ASSISTANCE IN FARM BILL

June 12, 2026

Coalition Calls on Senate to Reverse Federal Cuts that Threaten Food Assistance for Millions of Americans

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general in urging congressional leaders to restore Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and eligibility protections in the upcoming Farm Bill and reject efforts to reduce food assistance.

In a letter to Senate leadership and the leaders of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Attorney General Raoul and the coalition warned that recent federal SNAP cuts - the largest reductions to food assistance in modern history - are increasing hunger, creating new bureaucratic hurdles for eligible families, and shifting billions of dollars in costs onto states and local governments. They write that as the Senate considers the next Farm Bill, it has an opportunity to reaffirm a bipartisan commitment that no American should go hungry because they cannot afford food.

"More than 1.5 million Illinois seniors, families and children rely on SNAP to access the healthy meals they deserve every month," Raoul said. "At a time of rising inflation and increased costs, it is unconscionable the House of Representatives would vote to maintain cuts to food access. I join my colleagues in calling on the Senate to restore SNAP benefit levels and reverse these devastating cuts."

SNAP provides critical support to approximately 1.56 million Illinoisans. New federal restrictions passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including expanded work requirements and additional administrative hurdles, make it significantly harder for Illinois residents to keep their benefits or threaten to push them off the program altogether.

In their letter, Raoul and the coalition argue that expanded work requirements and administrative hurdles do not create jobs or reduce poverty. Instead, they cause eligible families to lose assistance because they are unable to navigate increasingly complex bureaucratic requirements.

The attorneys general also raise concerns about the impact of new SNAP changes on state economies. New cost-sharing provisions require states to shoulder billions of dollars in new costs while imposing substantial new administrative burdens, a significant shift from SNAP's longstanding federal commitment to ensuring that Americans do not go hungry during times of need. Attorney General Raoul and the coalition warn that these unprecedented shifts could force states to make impossible choices between cutting other essential services or reducing SNAP support for vulnerable residents.

Attorney General Raoul and the coalition are urging the Senate to take a different approach from the House-passed Farm Bill, which fails to reverse recent cuts to food assistance. They are calling on the Senate to restore SNAP benefit levels and funding, reverse or delay new cost-sharing requirements, and roll back expanded work requirements and eligibility restrictions. They also urge the Senate to reject further benefit cuts, preserve state flexibility, and strengthen access to nutrition assistance for seniors, children, veterans and working families.

The letter was sent today to Senate Majority Leader John Thune; Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer; Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman John Boozman; and Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar. Joining Attorney General Raoul in sending the letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.