Why 4.3 million people no longer receive food stamps | AP News

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins this week attributed a multimillion-person drop in the number of participants receiving food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to the tamping down of fraud and an improved economy.But experts discount those factors, saying the primary driver of the decrease was more likely new legislation that changed how the program runs.Here’s a closer look at the facts.ROLLINS: “As of just a couple of days ago, we now have moved 4.3 million Americans off of the food stamp program. A lot of that is fraud. A lot of it is people taking the program that shouldn’t have been. And a lot of it is just a better economy. We’ve had wage growth that has outpaced inflation for the first time since early 2021. This is a really big day. So people don’t need food stamps.”THE FACTS: SNAP beneficiaries decreased by nearly 4.3 million from January 2025 to January 2026, according to preliminary government data released by the Agriculture Department. However, experts say new requirements mandated by a massive tax and spending cut bill Republicans pushed through Congress last summer are the primary reasons. The bill is projected to cut $186 billion in federal spending — 20%