Durbin Fights For SNAP Benefits In Farm Bill

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, made a closing statement during today’s Committee consideration of the Farm Bill where he argued in support of Democrats’ request for a two-year delay to Republicans’ requirement that forces states to provide a share of the cost of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The two-year delay is supported by a bipartisan coalition including the National Governors Association, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National Conference of State Legislators. Without this fix, all state budgets could soon face major new costs of more than $9 billion, with the State of Illinois facing new costs of at least $600 million per year and causing financial impacts on county and town budgets as well.

In January 2025, forty-two million Americans, including almost two million Illinoisans, received SNAP benefits, until Congress enacted the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which cut SNAP by nearly $200 billion, the biggest cut in history. Today, it is now estimated that 4.5 million vulnerable American families have lost benefits for food, including 1.5 million children nationwide, and up to 300,000 people in Illinois.

Additionally, 23,000 Illinoisans who are unhoused, veterans, or youth aging out of foster care will lose assistance, and roughly 16,000 lawfully present asylees, refugees, and visa-holding victims of torture, trafficking, and domestic violence lost benefits as of April 1 because of OBBBA. The average SNAP benefit is about $6 per person per day.

“I have seen a few farm bills… The decision was made in the 1960s to blend together food and nutrition programs [to the Farm Bill]… That winning coalition has paid off ever since. We need it again and it has to be part of this SNAP conversation. We [Democrats] want to support the Farm Bill—I certainly do. But I want to make sure that I’m fair to my State and fair to the people who are receiving SNAP benefits who are being disadvantaged,” Durbin said. “This paperwork requirement of people in low-income categories is an onerous responsibility… as long as they are trying in good faith to comply with the law, I don’t think we should deny them the $6 a day.”

Video of Durbin’s comments in Committee is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s comments in Committee is available here.

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