An estimated 44,700 Nevadans are projected to lose access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to changes enacted under H.R. 1, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The law significantly expands federal SNAP work requirements, eliminates longstanding exemptions for vulnerable populations, narrows eligibility for certain noncitizens, and increases administrative cost burdens on states.
For Nevada — particularly rural counties — these changes risk increasing food insecurity without demonstrably increasing employment.
Expanded Work Requirements (Ages 55–64)
Under prior federal law, SNAP work rules applied to “able-bodied adults without dependents” (ABAWDs) ages 18–54.
H.R. 1 expands the upper age limit to 64.
Adults ages 55–64 must now document:
At least 80 hours per month (20 hours/week) of:
Paid employment
Approved job training
Volunteer service
Certain qualifying self-employment
Failure to comply limits benefits to three months within a three-year period.
2. Elimination of Automatic Exemptions
The law removes work requirement exemptions for:
Veterans
Individuals experiencing homelessness
Young adults who aged out of foster care
Parents once their youngest child turns 14
Parents of teens (14–17) must now meet work rules.
3. Narrowed Definition of “Able-Bodied
Under SNAP regulations, “able-bodied” means physically and mentally capable of work and not qualifying for a specific exemption.
Individuals with chronic health conditions may still be classified as able-bodied unless they can provide formal documentation of disability.
This creates risk for:
Older adults with untreated medical conditions
Individuals lacking access to healthcare documentation
People with mental health conditions not formally diagnosed
4. Stricter Waiver Standards for High-Unemployment Areas
Previously, states could request waivers for regions with limited job availability.
Under H.R. 1:
Geographic waivers are only permitted in areas with unemployment rates above 10%.
This threshold is substantially higher than unemployment in many rural Nevada counties — even where job availability is extremely limited.
Nevada Impact
Estimated Loss of Benefits
Approximately 44,700 Nevadans are expected to lose SNAP access.
Rural Disparities
Esmeralda County
Nye County
These counties experience some of the highest food insecurity rates in the state.
Rural barriers include:
Limited job availability
Long travel distances
Lack of public transportation
Seasonal or informal employment
The 10% unemployment waiver threshold makes relief unlikely for many rural communities.
Additional Changes
Noncitizen Eligibility
Certain noncitizens, including some refugees and asylum-status individuals, are no longer eligible for SNAP benefits.
Increased State Fiscal Burden
H.R. 1:
Increases required state contributions for SNAP administrative costs.
May require states to share in benefit costs if error rates exceed federal thresholds.
This creates new fiscal pressure on Nevada’s budget.
Who Is Most Affected
Adults ages 55–64 without dependents
Veterans
Individuals experiencing homelessness
Former foster youth
Parents of teenagers (14–17)
Older adults with chronic conditions lacking documentation
Certain noncitizens with humanitarian status
Evidence from previous SNAP work requirement expansions suggests:
Many individuals lose benefits due to paperwork or reporting barriers.
Employment outcomes do not significantly increase.
Food banks and charitable systems experience increased strain.
Expanded work requirements without expanded job access function primarily as benefit reductions.
Food security is not solely an economic issue — it is a matter of human dignity.
Hunger policy raises critical questions:
What is society’s responsibility to older adults nearing retirement?
How do we support rural communities with limited infrastructure?
Should access to food depend on documentation capacity?
How do public systems reflect shared moral commitments to care for neighbor?
LEAN urges policymakers to:
Monitor and publicly report Nevada’s SNAP loss data.
Invest in rural workforce infrastructure before enforcing expanded work rules.
Ensure disability documentation processes are accessible.
Strengthen partnerships with food banks and local organizations.
Advocate federally for reconsideration of expanded age requirements and waiver thresholds.
The changes enacted under H.R. 1 represent one of the most significant restrictions to SNAP eligibility in recent years.
In Nevada, the consequences will be felt most acutely by older adults, rural communities, and those already navigating economic instability.
Food assistance is not merely a budget line item. It is a stabilizing force for families, seniors, veterans, and communities across our state.
This moment bears witness to the power of faithful persistence. Your prayers, your advocacy, and your public witness on behalf of neighbors facing hunger and hardship are making a real and measurable difference.
Over the past year, we have watched with concern as funding for humanitarian assistance, global health, and life-saving nutrition programs faced serious threats in the federal budget. These were not abstract line items—they were commitments to human dignity, to children and families, and to a world where life is protected and nurtured.
Rather than turning away in discouragement, Lutheran advocates stepped forward. We contacted elected leaders. We wrote, called, met, and spoke—grounded in faith and guided by conscience—reminding lawmakers that budgets are moral documents and that care for the vulnerable must remain a priority.
As a result of recent action in the U.S. House, billions of dollars have now been designated for humanitarian aid, food security, nutrition, and global health initiatives. This funding will save lives and bring tangible hope to families and communities around the world.
This has been a difficult season, and progress has not come easily. But this outcome reflects the strength of collective, faith-rooted advocacy. Thank you for raising your voice alongside fellow Lutherans and people of faith who believe that love of neighbor belongs in our public life.
We invite you to pause in gratitude for this moment—and then to take one more faithful step. Reach out to your members of Congress to thank them for their work. Bipartisan action on issues like these is never guaranteed, and it matters that our leaders hear appreciation as well as accountability. Let them know that these commitments reflect the values of their constituents and the moral convictions of our faith.
Together, we continue this work—trusting that God is at work through justice, compassion, and the voices of a faithful people.
The appropriations and funding for food security and nutrition were confirmed as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations legislation that Congress passed and the President signed on February 3–4, 2026. That package effectively completed the annual appropriations process for nearly all federal agencies and programs after earlier shutdown delays and continuing resolutions.
1. Domestic Nutrition Programs (USDA Safety Net)
Even though the final package was signed in early February 2026, the appropriations for key domestic nutrition programs — including SNAP (food stamps) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) — had already been fully funded in the full-year USDA appropriations bill that was enacted prior to the shutdown and carried forward into the FY26 consolidated package timeline.
SNAP and WIC were fully funded through FY 2026, with authorities in place to continue benefits through at least September 30, 2026 (i.e., the end of the fiscal year).
Other domestic nutrition programs like school breakfast and lunch, Summer EBT, and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program were protected and funded within that same appropriations structure.
Because these nutrition programs were already funded through the structure of the ongoing appropriations process — and USDA’s funding was included in measures ratified before the Feb. 3 package — their funding did not lapse when the partial shutdown occurred and remained in effect once the full FY 2026 package was completed in early February.
2. Food Security & International Nutrition Programs
For global food security and nutrition programs (which are typically funded in the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations account), the final FY26 appropriations package that was signed in early February did include funding for:
Humanitarian assistance accounts that support emergency food aid and nutrition intervention;
Foreign aid and development food security programs, though exact line items are often detailed in the explanatory statements rather than the topline public summary.
The broad foreign aid and global health package — estimated around $50 billion in total for FY 2026 includes food security and nutrition elements (i.e., humanitarian food aid, nutrition assistance components of humanitarian responses, and related water/sanitation support). While precise breakdowns by program (e.g., specific amounts for Feed the Future labs or McGovern-Dole) are often delineated in agency budget justifications or committee reports, the overarching appropriation process that culminated with the Feb. 3/4 signing is the vehicle that made those funds legally available.
Timeline
Congress reached agreement and passed most of the 12 FY26 appropriations bills throughout late 2025.
A partial government shutdown occurred Jan. 31 – Feb. 3, 2026, because lawmakers hadn’t finished the omnibus appropriations legislation.
On Feb. 3, 2026, Congress passed and the President signed a consolidated appropriations act that completed FY26 funding for nearly all agencies and programs — including those that underwrite nutrition and food security programs.
$9.42 Billion for Global Health as US Foreign Aid Bill Passes
The US House of Representatives passed a more than $1 trillion spending package, bringing an end to a five-day partial government shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding.
Among the allocations is a $9.42 billion package for global health programs – signaling strong bipartisan support and maintaining significant global health aid.
The $9.42 billion package agreed to by the US House and Senate, and signed into law by the President, is lower than the $12.4 billion allocation in 2024 and 2025 – but it is still $5.7 billion more than requested last September by US President Donald Trump in his America First Global Health Strategy.
Although the administration requested major cuts to foreign aid, Congress’s version of the bill preserves flagship global health programs like President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Global Fund to Fight TB, AIDS and Malaria, and HIV/AIDS programs previously administered through USAID – and reasserts Congress’s role in government spending.
The global health allocations are part of a larger $51.4 billion foreign aid spending package for the 2026 fiscal year. That foreign aid bill, while a 16% cut from 2024, is nearly $20 billion more than what the Trump Administration initially requested.
The broader bill also includes $5.4 billion in funding for humanitarian assistance and comes as the Trump administration moves forward on a $11 billion plan for direct bilateral assistanceto developing country governments – some of which would also be dedicated to health.
Funding for HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, family planning
Of the $9.42 billion earmarked in the bill specifically for global health programs, some $5.9 billion would be allocated to HIV/AIDS – with $1.25 billion channeled through the Global Fund, $45 million for UN AIDS, and $4.6 billion through PEPFAR, the flagship US program founded in 2003. This represents $200 million more for PEPFAR, and a $400 million decrease (24%) for the Global Fund from FY25 levels.
And while less than the $7.1 billion level of support to these organizations under the Biden administration in FY24, it’s a major increase from the $2.9 billion for HIV/AIDS requested by Trump. At the same time, the Bill also calls for PEPFAR, founded by former US President George Bush, to transition to a largely self-reliant program of national governments over the coming years.
Other global health priorities still see strong funding: $795 million is dedicated to malaria, and $379 million for tuberculosis; $85 million is earmarked for polio.
Some $575 million for family planning and reproductive health services are also included in the funding package – despite the historic reticence of some conservatives to fund such programs, and the fact that the Administration requested no funds for these programs.
And although the administration has ordered a US withdrawal from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Congress allocated $32.5 million for the organization, as part of the family planning funds. The bill does stipulate that the agency cannot spend these funds on China – and that if the Trump administration makes good on its plan to withdraw from UNFPA, the money should then be transferred to other global health programs.
Allocations earmarked for “Global Health Security,” are $615.6 million for organizations like Pandemic Fund and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). While global health security overall was cut by about 12% from FY25, these funds could also be used in the event of a public health emergency.
Funds will also go to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs; $109 million) and nutrition ($165 million).
US to continue funding Gavi despite federal anti-vaccine rhetoric
In late January the US froze all funds to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, over concerns that the organization, which procures and delivers life-saving vaccines, provides vaccines with the preservative thimerosal.
And while the US FDA has stated that the preservative “has a long record of safe and effective use preventing bacterial and fungal contamination of vaccines,” the US plans to withhold the $300 million already allocated by the Biden administration but not yet paid, as well as any new funds.
Despite this, the newly passed FY26 bill does include another $300 million for a US contribution to Gavi. The Administration had requested Gavi funds be eliminated.
New ‘National Security Fund’ also includes health components
In another twist, support for family planning, reproductive health and countering child marriage is also supported through a new National Security Fund of $6.77 billion that Congress aims to create – to “combat China’s influence” among other things.
The fund, which also includes monies for clean cook stoves, a Young African Leaders Initiative, peace process monitoring, trade capacity building, and assorted other priorities, specifies that at least 15% of the fund should go to the African continent.
Escalating settler violence and illegal settlement threaten our Lutheran partners and neighbors in Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Beit Sahour residents benefit greatly from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Beit Sahour, and its adjoined Lutheran school (The Evangelical Lutheran School of Beit Sahour), which serve all members of its community—Christian and Muslim- through high-quality K-12 education, community service programming, and support of the local scouts troupe. These are ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), a close partner to the ELCA.
The Yatziv Settlement was erected on land belonging to Beit Sahour families, and its construction dispossesses them from this land. This illegal settlement cuts off much of the Beit Sahour community from one another, farmlands, schools, work, medical sites, and the main road which connects the entire southern West Bank from the northern West Bank. There is an incredibly high likelihood of extremist settler violence occurring against the residents of Beit Sahour. On Jan. 25 in a different historically Christian town in the West Bank, Birzeit, extremist settlers trespassed on private land before attacking and violently beating four members of the Christian family landowners. This is the reality for Palestinian residents when settlers illegally move in.
The West Bank Violence Prevention Act, H.R. 3045/S.2667, provides Congress with the ability to push back against pervasive settler violence in the West Bank. As people of faith concerned with this situation we can urge passage, and also urge our elected officials to participate in sending a letter on these matters to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff demanding U.S. government action to protect Palestinian Christians who are a persecuted religious minority in the Holy Land.
As Christians, we are called to promote justice. Let us not stay silent when our siblings in Christ face this further infringement on their right to freedom of religion and freedom of movement, as well as increased danger to their physical safety. Regarding international peace, the ELCA social statement For Peace in God’s World says, “we strive to strengthen our global perspective as individual Christians and as a church body, in spite of strong currents that push us to turn in on ourselves.” Customize this Action Alert with your message to U.S. elected leaders.
Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada 