Republicans further their cruelty by raising costs, cutting access to SNAP
Editor:
On Oct. 1st, 2026, every county in New York will face a steep increase in the administration of SNAP benefits, according to New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC).
The increase is the direct result of the One Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, Congressman Nick Langworthy, and the Republicans in Congress. This legislation reduces federal subsidies for SNAP benefits. Monroe County, for example, will need to increase its program costs by more than $3 million; Niagara County by more than $1.5 million; Livingston and Orleans by more than $300,000 and $200,000, respectively.
In addition to the cost of the program, counties will be required to increase monitoring and documentation of SNAP recipients. As NYSAC explains: “Counties are being asked to monitor more people, explain more rules, process more documentation, and preserve program integrity with less federal support.”
Republicans justify this increase in county cost and the suffering of their constituents by claiming they are stopping waste, fraud, and abuse of the system. However, the data they are using does not measure waste, fraud, or abuse. They are using Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM), which measures improper payments, and most of these are shown to be paperwork mistakes.
Having two jobs or variable hours or shifts with different pay schedules greatly increases filing errors. As NYSAC reports: “Many errors stem from wages, salaries, and missing reports. Those issues often reflect changing jobs, changing hours, delayed paperwork, inconsistent schedules, and difficulty documenting income in a timely way.”
However, Congresswoman Claudia Tenney cited PERM data in a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul “urging her administration to cooperate with the federal government to reduce Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payment errors, combat waste, fraud and abuse and protect New York taxpayers from unnecessary costs.”
Even the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recognizes that PERM does not identify fraud. Ms. Tenney and Mr. Langworthy are intentionally and knowingly misusing data to further Republican cruelty. And the cruelty is obvious.
The need for food assistance has not changed, especially with the rising cost of food and fuel. The bureaucratic changes will only restrict access, making food insecurity more of a problem, not less. Because of Ms. Tenney and Mr. Langworthy, counties will be forced to increase taxes, cut services, or both. The cruelty is in the Republican plan.
William Fine
Brockport
