Rep. Gomez Introduces the EATS Act to Expand SNAP Eligibility for College Students
The EATS Act of 2025 is sitting in the House Committee on Agriculture where it must be reviewed before moving forward. No action has been taken on this bill since July 2025, which means it has been stalled for 11 months. Most bills like this do not receive a committee vote and often stop moving at this stage.
The bill has very strong support from one party but will likely face pushback from the other side over the removal of work requirements and the overall cost of the program.
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 3183 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 3183 (118th) →Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
College students who are low-income but currently blocked from SNAP by the student eligibility rules would gain access to food assistance. Roughly 3 to 4 million college students experience food insecurity, and many are currently disqualified solely because they attend school at least half-time and cannot meet the extra work requirements. This bill would let them apply for SNAP like anyone else, as long as they meet the standard income limits.
“Individuals who are bona fide students enrolled at least half time in any recognized school, training program, or institution of higher education.”
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand reintroduced the EATS Act of 2025 to eliminate work-for-food barriers for college students. The bill would make enrollment in higher education a qualifying condition for SNAP, potentially helping 4 million students nationwide who currently face strict work requirements.
This analysis argues that the EATS Act is a critical solution to the widespread food insecurity on American campuses, where 41% of students struggle to afford meals. It highlights the need to remove the 20-hour work requirement to ensure low-income students can focus on their degrees.
Local coverage of California students facing food insecurity as pandemic-era SNAP exemptions expire. The article discusses the EATS Act as a proposed federal legislative fix to prevent thousands of students from losing their reliable access to food.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
EATS Act of 2025
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