How Lawmakers Can Roll Back the Biden Administration’s Blunders and Improve the Food Stamp Program
Key Findings
- The Biden administration’s unlawful food stamp expansion greatly contributed to soaring grocery prices.
- Families can expect a $1,700 higher grocery bill annually due to higher food stamp spending under former President Biden.
- The increased food stamp spending also caused an estimated 2.4 million able-bodied adults to choose welfare over work.
- Congress, the Trump administration, and the states all have options to tame the growth of food stamps and help move able-bodied adults from welfare to work.
The start of this decade has seen historic inflation reduce the purchasing power of the American dollar.1 But this did not happen in a vacuum. It was the result of decisions made by the Biden administration, which increased the regulatory burden on Americans and increased the size of the welfare state. The growth in the food stamp program in particular dealt a severe blow to Americans’ pocketbooks.

Thankfully, Congress, the Trump administration, and the states all have options to help relieve the inflationary pressure created by former President Biden’s food stamp agenda. They can provide relief to family finances all while helping able-bodied adults transition back to the workforce, enabling them to create a better life for themselves.
Former President Biden’s regulatory spending spree drove inflation, especially through the food stamp program
President Biden presided over unprecedented inflation.2 Under four years of President Trump, inflation averaged just 1.9 percent, with annual inflation of 1.3 percent when President Biden took office.3 But after just 18 months in office, inflation spiked to 9.1 percent.4 Over four years, prices grew by more than 21 percent under President Biden.5 Even by the end of 2024, the 12-month inflation rate was still more than double what it was when President Biden took office.6 This overwhelming inflation means it is unlikely hardworking Americans will ever regain the purchasing power they lost under the Biden administration.

President Biden liked to blame others for runaway inflation, such as President Trump, Republican-led states, Vladimir Putin, and small business owners.7-13
But a main driver of inflation was the administration’s reckless expansions of welfare and regulatory spending spree.14-15 President Biden finalized more than 1,000 new federal rules, adding more than 350,000 pages to the Federal Register.16-17 Over four years, the Biden administration’s expansion of the regulatory state added $1.7 trillion in new costs, roughly four times what President Obama imposed in his regulatory record-setting first term.18 In fact, the Biden administration’s actions contributed to roughly 57 percent of all new regulatory costs over the past two decades.19 This regulatory spending spree only drove prices and inflation higher. For every 15 percent increase in federal regulations, the cost of consumer goods and services increases by a percentage point.20
This is exemplified by the growth in food stamps, which increased faster than inflation during the Biden years. From 2019 to 2023, food stamp enrollment climbed from nearly 36 million to more than 42 million enrollees.21 Over the same timeframe, spending increased dramatically, from roughly $56 billion to $107 billion, an astonishing 92 percent increase.22 The food stamp program is now expected to cost more than $1.1 trillion over the next decade.23

Much of this growth can be directly attributed to the Biden administration’s actions. For example, continuing to extend the public health emergency long past what was reasonable meant there was a pause on work requirements in food stamps, allowing able-bodied adults to collect food stamps without working.24 The administration did not reinstate work requirements until the country had an unemployment rate below four percent for 15 consecutive months.25-26
The public health emergency was also linked to emergency allotments, which increased food stamp costs by nearly $1 billion every month.27 Finally, the Biden administration waived work requirements in areas with near-record-low unemployment, exempting nearly 75 percent of able-bodied adults on food stamps who would otherwise be subject to work requirements.28
Another Biden-era policy dramatically increased food stamp spending, striking a blow to grocery shoppers, and remains in effect today.

The Biden administration’s unlawful food stamp expansion was especially devastating
In June 2021, the Biden administration forced through the largest permanent increase in food stamp spending in history by reevaluating the Thrifty Food Plan.29 In doing so, the Biden administration ignored the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) cost-neutrality requirement of the past 45 years, violated internal guidelines and controls, failed to meet economic analysis requirements, and suppressed key data from the public.30 This unlawful expansion of food stamp benefits hiked food stamp benefits by an average of 27 percent in 2022 alone and will cost taxpayers up to $250 billion over the next decade.31-32

This jump in costs burdened taxpayers through increased borrowing but also affected people’s pocketbooks by raising grocery bills. From December 2019 to March 2023, food prices increased by roughly 23 percent.33 A study covering 20,000 stores comprising roughly half of all sales at United States grocery stores found that for every 12.5 percent increase in per-capita food stamp spending, grocery prices increase by one percent.34
Per-capita food stamp spending grew by more than 90 percent from December 2019 to March 2023.35 After accounting for President Biden’s emergency allotments and other pandemic EBT programs, higher food stamp spending caused grocery prices to increase by more than 15 percent.36 Even after these pandemic-related increases finally ended, thanks to the Thrifty Food Plan reevaluation, a family of four can expect to pay nearly $1,700 more per year for groceries.37
But the Biden administration’s food stamp shenanigans led to inflation in other ways, too. His administration discouraged mandatory employment and training requirements, waived work requirements in areas with low unemployment, and extended the public health emergency eight times.38 This led to people dropping out of the workforce, driving up labor costs and raising the price of goods and services.39-40

The 27 percent increase in food stamp benefits alone caused an estimated 2.4 million able-bodied adults to choose welfare over work.41 These able-bodied adults who turned to welfare instead of work could have filled roughly one-quarter of open jobs.42
The food stamp program has an estimated 10 million work registrants, generally able-bodied adults under the age of 60 who do not have young children, with 94 percent exempt from work requirements.43 Of these, an estimated 4.2 million are classified as able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), those aged 18 to 54 who have no children at home.44 These individuals are supposed to be held to meaningful work requirements, but three-quarters are exempt from these requirements.45 Of these more than four million ABAWDs, 74 percent are not working at all and only three percent are working full time.46

Thankfully, the federal and state governments can take action to reduce unnecessary food stamp spending and get capable people back to work.
The federal government in conjunction with the states can right-size the food stamp program
Fortunately, President Trump has already taken steps to address out-of-control federal spending. But there is still work to be done.
First on the list should be for USDA and Congress to work together to roll back the reevaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan and prevent future massive increases. Congress should reset it to FY2020 levels adjusted forward only for inflation.47 Congress should then pass legislation to ensure that substantial and unilateral increases are not allowed to happen again.
Congress should strengthen and expand food stamp work requirements to cover more able-bodied adults and close the Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility loophole, which adds 5.4 million people who do not meet food stamp eligibility requirements.48-49
States have their role to play too. State officials should prevent their agencies running food stamps from using no-good-cause exemptions and from abusing waivers.50 Congress and USDA should work toward a national solution for these two problems as well.
Broadening work requirements and closing loopholes would not just help taxpayers, it would also help those trapped in a cycle of welfare dependency. Studies show that work requirements are a highly successful tool to help move people from dependency to self-sufficiency. When implemented at the state level, able-bodied adults returned to work in more than 1,000 diverse industries, their incomes doubled within a year and tripled within two years, and their higher incomes more than offset lost welfare benefits.51-55
The Bottom Line: Congress, the Trump administration, and the states can collaborate to combat inflationary food stamp spending.
Inflation wreaked havoc on Americans across the 50 states. While President Biden attempted to shift the blame, the buck stops with him and his regulatory spending spree. Food stamp spending grew even faster, driving up grocery prices and forcing families to fork over more money to put dinner on the table. Much of the food stamp increases can be attributed to bad Biden-era policies that greatly inflated benefits and made it easier for able-bodied adults to eat up resources meant for the truly needy.
Fortunately, Congress, the Trump administration, and the states can help solve this problem. Each can take steps to right-size the food stamp program and get able-bodied adults back to work.

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