Bill tightens work rules for food stamps, housing aid across three programs
H.R. 1198 — Let’s Get to Work Act of 2025 · Filed by Mike Kennedy (R-UT) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 11, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill tightens work requirements for three federal assistance programs: SNAP (food stamps), public housing, and rental assistance. It extends the time parents must work from 3 months to 6 months to keep benefits, narrows exemptions (removing some age and family-status protections), and applies the same stricter SNAP work rules to public housing and rental assistance recipients. The bill benefits no one financially—it restricts eligibility and imposes new work obligations on low-income households.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to restrict eligibility for federal assistance by extending work periods, narrowing exemptions, and applying stricter rules across three programs. It is a straightforward policy change with no hidden provisions or private beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- Narrowing the age exemption from 'over 60' to 'over 60' with additional restrictions may push elderly individuals into work despite health or disability barriers not explicitly addressed in the exemption language.
- Applying SNAP work rules to public housing and rental assistance creates a unified work-requirement regime across three programs, potentially compounding hardship for households that fail to meet any single program's threshold.
- The 6-month work requirement for parents (consecutive or otherwise) may be difficult to satisfy for those in seasonal, gig, or part-time work, effectively excluding them from benefits despite nominal compliance.
- Removing the exemption for individuals responsible for a dependent child under 6 years of age (now only 'under 6 years of age' in the exemption list) may force parents of very young children into work without childcare support.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill restricts eligibility and increases work obligations for low-income households receiving food assistance, housing, and rental aid. Parents, elderly individuals, and those with caregiving responsibilities face narrower exemptions and longer work periods, making it harder to retain benefits—a direct cost to vulnerable populations.
Named in the bill
Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), United States Housing Act of 1937, Public housing, Tenant-based rental assistance, Section 6(o), Section 16(h)(1)(E)(ii)(I), Section 3, Section 8(o)
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.
- Feb 11, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 11, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Financial Services and House Committee on Agriculture · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,624 characters) on Sep 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,522 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-21.
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