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H.R. 5860119th CongressIn committeeLatest action Dec 2, 2025Decoded by AI · checked against the record
The plain-language version leads. The official text is always the reference.
HR 5860 would automatically fund SNAP and WIC during federal funding gaps, barring officials from freezing benefits for ~47M recipients.
70-second read · 5 questions answered below
HR 5860 would require SNAP and WIC benefits to continue uninterrupted during federal funding gaps or government shutdowns, automatically setting aside whatever money is needed to keep both programs running. No executive branch official, including those at budget offices or the Agriculture Department, could hold back, delay, or freeze these funds. States and tribal governments would be required to keep processing applications, and approved applicants must receive benefits within five days.
The bill directly affects the roughly 40 million Americans who rely on SNAP and the approximately 6 to 7 million people who use WIC, including low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and young children. It also applies to state governments and federally recognized tribes that administer these programs.
Without this legislation, federal funding gaps can interrupt the flow of SNAP and WIC benefits, leaving tens of millions of low-income people without food assistance. The bill also creates an obligation for the federal government to reimburse any state or tribe that spends its own emergency funds to keep benefits going during a federal funding lapse.
The bill automatically sets aside whatever federal funds are necessary to keep SNAP and WIC running during a funding gap, with no fixed cap stated. The federal government is also required to reimburse states or tribes that cover benefit costs out of their own funds during a lapse.
AI-drafted summary. Verify it against the official text before you act on it. Read the official bill on Congress.gov
Right now: a House committee is reviewing it. If the Senate changes it, it goes back to the House before reaching the President.
Latest action: — Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture.