More than 200 mayors say federal changes could increase hunger and shift billions in costs to states.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt has joined more than 200 mayors from across the country in urging Congress to reverse recent changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, arguing the new law will increase food insecurity and shift billions of dollars in costs to states and local communities.
The bipartisan letter, organized by the United States Conference of Mayors, asks the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee to revisit SNAP provisions included in the federal budget reconciliation law signed earlier this month.
The mayors argue the law expands work requirements for some recipients and, beginning in fiscal year 2028, could require states with higher payment error rates to share in the cost of SNAP benefits. They contend the changes will reduce access to food assistance while placing new financial burdens on state governments already facing budget pressures.
“The federal government should be expanding access to food, not creating new obstacles,” the mayors wrote, describing communities as being on the “front lines of a deepening food security crisis.”
Holt, a Republican who recently completed his term as president of the United States Conference of Mayors, was among the signatories to the letter.
SNAP provides food assistance to hundreds of thousands of low-income Oklahomans and is administered in the state by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Supporters of the federal law have argued the changes strengthen program integrity, encourage employment among able-bodied adults and help reduce federal spending.
This story includes reporting by Oklahoma Voice.
