The Senate is watering down a House proposal from the “big, beautiful bill” that would have forced states to start contributing at least 5% of food stamp benefit costs.

A revised proposal from the Senate Agricultural Committee would allow some states to escape paying anything toward food benefits, but it would still require states to fund more of the administrative costs of the program, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP.

The change is one of many senators are making as they prepare to vote on a revised version of President Trump’s legislative agenda package later this month.

The federal government currently funds 100% of SNAP benefits, the costs of which have grown from $60 billion in 2019, when 36 million people were enrolled, to $110 billion today, with 42 million people enrolled.

The House-passed bill would have made states begin chipping in for SNAP benefits starting in fiscal year 2028. The minimum contribution was set at 5%, but states with high rates of overpayments and underpayments, known as error rates, would have to contribute between 15% and 25%.

The Senate drops the requirement for states to fund at least 5% of SNAP benefits and only requires states with high error rates to chip in between 5% and 15%.

“We have an incentive program in there whereby, if you get your error rate down, then that really mitigates what you’d have to put in,” said Sen. John Hoeven, North Dakota Republican.

“But the federal government still saves the money because you’re not paying it out, because that’s error,” he said. “So to me, it’s a win, win.”

While states don’t currently pay for SNAP benefits, they do equally split the cost of administering the program with the federal government. The Senate is keeping the House provision that would increase the state contribution for administration costs to 75%, a change also designed to encourage states to run their SNAP programs more efficiently.

Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman, Arkansas Republican, briefed the Republican Conference on the SNAP cost-sharing changes and other aspects of his panel’s portion of the bill. He also previewed some of the details with reporters. 

States with a less than 6% error rate will not have to pay for any SNAP benefits.

The share for states with high overpayments and underpayments begins at 5% for those with error rates between 6% and 8%, increasing to 10% for those with error rates between 8% and 10%, maxing out at 15% for states with error rates above 10%.

“It’s very possible for the states to actually pay for their share by being efficient with their error rate,” Mr. Boozman said. “It doesn’t kick in until 2028, so it gives states time to prepare.”

The Senate’s revised cost-sharing proposal would save about $20 billion less than the House version, he said. 

Mr. Boozman and other GOP senators said the changes were well received by the conference, as many Republicans had concerns about the House bill’s 5% cost-sharing requirement for all states.

“The Ag Committee has worked it really hard to find the right balance,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, North Dakota Republican. 

He also acknowledged that there are “some outliers” like Alaska that could have trouble coming into compliance to keep benefit contributions down under the revised proposal.

Alaska had a 60% error rate in the most recent calculation, far more than any other state, with the second highest error rate of 36% coming from New Jersey.

The Senate also revised a House provision tightening current work requirements for SNAP recipients. The House sought to narrow an exemption for able-bodied adults taking care of a dependent child to apply only to those with children under age 7 instead of 18. The Senate tweaks the exemption to apply to adults with children under age 10.

Senate Finance Chairman Mike Crapo, Idaho Republican, also updated GOP senators on his panel’s work during the Wednesday meeting, although the committee still has several issues to work through before it is prepared to release bill text.

The Finance Committee has jurisdiction over the biggest provisions in the massive package, from sweeping tax cuts to Medicaid reforms and a debt-limit increase. 

One of many unresolved issues is what to do about the state and local tax deduction, known as SALT. 

The House quadrupled the existing $10,000 cap on the SALT deduction to $40,000 — a move that helped secure support from Republicans who represent districts in the high-tax blue states of New York, New Jersey and California. 

Mr. Crapo told GOP senators his panel plans to lower the cap below $40,000 but did not provide a new figure, several meeting attendees said. 

New York GOP Reps. Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota have warned they would oppose any change to the $40,000 SALT cap, meaning the Senate’s plan to lower it could derail the package when it moves back to the House. The measure previously passed the House with just one vote to spare.

Some Senate committees with smaller portions of the bill have already released the bill text. The goal is for the remaining committees to have their pieces finalized by the end of next week so the chamber can begin the floor process for the bill on June 23, according to Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma Republican. 

The floor process culminates in a lengthy vote-a-rama in which senators can offer unlimited amendments to the bill before voting on final passage. Mr. Mullin said the aspirational goal is to hold the vote-a-rama June 26 to 27.

• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.