WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, this week joined U.S. Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) in reintroducing the COLAs Don’t Count Act, bicameral legislation to allow households utilizing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—known as 3Squares in Vermont—to deduct annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) from their income when calculating eligibility for the food assistance program. Railroad retirement and veterans’ benefit COLAs and state supplementation program payments would similarly be exempt.
“Nearly 70,000 Vermonters rely on SNAP for vital hunger assistance, so it’s essential this program accurately captures the financial reality of those who need it. Yet we’re seeing SNAP recipients lose out on vital benefits because of outdated requirements that don’t account for modern financial hardships,” said Senator Welch. “We need to update SNAP to help families put food on the table and keep up with rising costs.”
“For individuals and American families who rely on Social Security, SSI, and SNAP, the annual Social Security COLA increase can deliver economic support especially as inflation remains too high in our country. At the same time, the COLA can result in cuts to critical food assistance. Our legislation would exempt the Social Security COLA from being counted as income for purposes of determining SNAP eligibility and the benefit amount,” said Rep. Moore. “This is similar to existing exemptions of many other federal benefits, which work to protect SNAP benefits for vulnerable Americans. As Republicans cut SNAP and food insecurity grows, Congress needs to advance this legislation to strengthen SNAP and help families keep food on the table.”
In addition to Senator Welch, the COLAs Don’t Count Act is co-led by Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and cosponsored by Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). The legislation is co-led in the House by Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA-28) and cosponsored by Reps. Becca Balint (D-VT-At-Large), Julia Brownley (D-CA-26), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-AL), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), and Bobby Scott (D-VA-03).
“After Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans took a sledgehammer to Americans’ SNAP benefits, we should be doing everything we can to protect lifesaving nutrition assistance,” said Senator Padilla. “Annual cost-of-living adjustments are meant to help people keep up with rising prices and inflation, not to unintentionally strip away vulnerable families’ SNAP benefits. This bill would make overdue updates to SNAP eligibility calculations so that the 5.5 million Californians who depend on CalFresh can afford their grocery bills and keep food on the table.”
“People relying on food assistance are already walking an economic tightrope,” said Senator Wyden. “Because of outdated red tape, many of these Americans are also being forced to shoulder higher living expenses across the board with grocery bills, and so much more. Our legislation will ensure that retiree’s cost-of-living adjustments aren’t treated as an afterthought so that families, seniors, and people with disabilities don’t go hungry.”
“At a time when millions of American families are facing skyrocketing grocery and electricity costs and health care bills, the annual cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security is meant to help households keep up with rising inflation. Unfortunately, that same annual boost can cause some families who receive SNAP benefits to see their payments reduced or even outright eliminated because of outdated income eligibility requirements. We must pass COLAs Don’t Count Act so that families in Massachusetts and all across the country are not further burdened by Trump’s affordability crisis,” said Senator Markey.
“We should be making it easier, not harder, for New Mexicans receiving SNAP benefits to put food on the table. Unfortunately, too many people who rely on both Social Security and SNAP are being punished for annual Cost of Living Adjustments, leading to a decrease or complete elimination of their overall SNAP benefits. I’m proud to join this legislation to right this wrong, protecting eligibility for the thousands of people in our state who depend on this program for their health and well-being,” said Senator Heinrich, a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees funding for SNAP, WIC, and other federal nutrition programs.
“Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are supposed to help our most vulnerable Americans, including seniors and Veterans, keep up with the rising cost of basic necessities. But for too many Americans, those COLA increases cause them to receive lower monthly food assistance benefits or even to lose eligibility altogether. It’s harmful and unacceptable,” said Rep. Chu. “I’m proud to join Representative Gwen Moore in introducing this common-sense bill to stop penalizing seniors by ensuring Social Security COLAs are no longer counted as income for the purposes of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility.”
“The cost of living in America is too high and it only gets higher each year. Social Security cost-of-living adjustments are intended to help seniors and people with disabilities keep up with rising costs, not to push them off a nutritional lifeline,” said Rep. Norton. “This commonsense legislation ensures that modest COLA increases do not trigger harmful reductions in SNAP benefits, allowing vulnerable Americans to maintain access to the food assistance they rely on.”
“As costs continue to rise, seniors and veterans should not have to worry about putting food on the table,” said Rep. Scott. “This bill ensures that they can continue to afford their necessities and receive the nutrition needed without annual cost-of-living adjustments impacting their SNAP benefits.”
In 2023, approximately 9 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries were also SNAP recipients, with 33% of SNAP households receiving Social Security benefits (an average of $1,096) and 23% of households receiving SSI benefits (an average of $723 monthly). Each year, Social Security beneficiaries receive a COLA provided through the Social Security Act to ensure the value of benefits is not eroded by inflation. In 2025, Social Security and SSI benefits increased by 2.5%, resulting in a $50 increase for Social Security checks—totaling $1,976 per month on average.
However, when the income of a SNAP household rises, beneficiaries face a potential reduction in SNAP benefits or risk becoming ineligible, creating a benefits cliff. Further, as COLAs raise a household’s overall income—and are not considered an allowable deduction under SNAP income eligibility requirements—it can impact households’ ability to receive vital food assistance. For example, in 2023, an estimated 28,000 SNAP households lost their eligibility for the program as a result of Social Security COLAs, and 36% of SNAP recipients saw a decrease of an average of $32 per month in benefits.
Last year, Vermonters who are enrolled in SNAP received an average of $184.48 per month, or $6.06 per day, in benefits.
The COLAs Don’t Count Act is endorsed by the Food and Research Action Center; Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin; Hunger Free Vermont; Hunger Task Force; National Council on Aging; Social Security Works; and the Strengthen Social Security Coalition.
“No one should lose SNAP benefits because their Social Security check went up by a few dollars,” said Anore Horton, Executive Director, Hunger Free Vermont. “Social Security cost-of-living adjustments are meant to help older adults keep up with rising costs—not to take grocery money off their tables. This bill ensures that modest increases in Social Security don’t trigger SNAP cuts that push seniors closer to hunger. We are grateful to Senator Welch for introducing this important piece of legislation.”
Senator Welch has been a leading advocate for protecting and expanding access to nutrition programs in the Senate. He voted against the so-called ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Act, which slashed nutrition assistance, and was outspoken in his opposition to the cuts and changes to the SNAP program. Senator Welch also introduced the Improving Access to Nutrition Act of 2025, legislation to help more Americans access SNAP by lifting Republicans’ punitive time limits on SNAP eligibility requirements.
Learn more about the COLAs Don’t Count Act of 2026.
Read and download the full text of the bill.
###