Budget Reconciliation Threatens Food Security and Workforce Training

CEO Media Contact:
Claire Gross, Sr. Manager Public Relations
[email protected] | (646) 370-8292

Washington, D.C.–July 3, 2025–On July 3, The United States Congress passed a budget reconciliation package with alarming implications for the health and livelihood of people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In particular the cost-sharing model requires state budgets to shoulder a portion of their SNAPs costs that were previously fully funded by the federal government.

People who have been incarcerated experience food insecurity at twice the rate of the general population and 60 percent of people who have been incarcerated are persistently unemployed up to a year after their release. The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), along with hundreds of other providers, relies on SNAP and SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) as key tools in ensuring SNAP recipients have access to food security and quality training to lift themselves out of poverty. Up to 80 percent of CEO participants are enrolled in SNAP E&T.

“SNAP and SNAP E&T are crucial to the stability and mobility of CEO’s participants,” said Sam Schaeffer, CEO of Center for Employment Opportunities. “These programs put people on the path to autonomy and have served as a lifeline for so many Americans struggling to put food on the table. Due to imbalanced state cost-share requirements, millions of people, including children, will be forced to live in hunger. As we face unprecedented reductions to programs foundational to healthy lives and economic security, we can’t afford division to stand in the way of solutions. Now, more than ever, we urge lawmakers to pass a bipartisan, comprehensive farm bill that puts an end to policies that exclude people from food benefits and paid workforce training.”

The budget reconciliation shifting SNAP costs to states will irreversibly impact each states’ economic stability and ability to support SNAP recipients. Many states will be forced to make difficult decisions to accommodate their cost share requirements. SNAP recipients and SNAP E&T providers will bear the brunt of reduced investment resulting in diminished access to these critical programs. In the wake of these changes lawmakers must work together to pass a bipartisan comprehensive farm bill that protects access to SNAP and SNAP E&T programs.

In December 2024, CEO and over 50 anti-poverty, agriculture, employment training, food security, reentry and civil rights organizations from across the country formed the “We Can’t Wait” coalition. The coalition recognizes that the farm bill holds many of the most pressing issues facing Americans today and urges Congress to pass a bipartisan, comprehensive farm bill that protects and expands access to food security. The “We Can’t Wait” coalition will continue to be a driving voice in farm bill reauthorization conversations unified in its call for a farm bill that addresses challenges facing people from all walks of life.

CEO has been a leading advocate on two groundbreaking pieces of bipartisan legislation in the farm bill:

Training and Nutrition Stability Act (TNSA) (H.R.2974 and S.1789) is a bipartisan fix supported by over 150 organizations nationwide that would ensure people enrolled in workforce development programs would maintain their food security as they complete training.
The RESTORE Act (H.R.3479 and S.1753) which allows SNAP eligibility for people with past drug convictions.

In April, Schaeffer and CEO Senior Site Supervisor William Lewis, testified before the House Committee on Agriculture to explain the efficacy of voluntary and paid workforce development training and the importance of protecting access to SNAP food assistance. Independent evaluations show that CEO participants are 48% more likely to be employed three years after release from incarceration and participants who combine transitional employment with advanced credentials like commercial driver’s licenses experience a 30% increase in post-program earnings.

Now, more than ever, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle must come together to pass a comprehensive and bipartisan farm bill. CEO will continue to advocate for a farm bill that can address the gaps in SNAP services prompted by the budget reconciliation.

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About the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)

The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) provides immediate, effective, and comprehensive employment services exclusively to people recently released from incarceration. CEO currently operates in over 30 cities across 12 states and is dedicated to ensuring that justice-impacted individuals have opportunities to achieve socioeconomic mobility. For more information, visit ceoworks.org.