MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today released a statement regarding the passage of 2025 Assembly Bill (AB) 180 to support the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as FoodShare in Wisconsin, which provides food assistance to over 700,000 Wisconsinites, including 270,000 kids. The bill, which Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration have spent months urging Republican lawmakers to pass, is designed to reduce FoodShare payment errors and aimed at saving Wisconsin taxpayers from potentially having to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalty fees to the Trump Administration due to new changes under Republicans’ ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ Under new federal changes thanks to President Trump and Republicans’ so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ states will be forced to pay for a higher share of SNAP benefit costs if FoodShare payment error rates exceed certain thresholds. In Wisconsin, this could cost taxpayers an additional over $200 million every year in penalty fees to the Trump Administration, on top of the more than $284 million Wisconsin taxpayers are already estimated to pay in future budgets. Gov. Evers has repeatedly urged Republican lawmakers to take quick action on the Evers Administration’s requests and was among the governor’s top legislative priorities and highlighted in his 2026 State of the State address.
“Over 700,000 Wisconsinites, including 270,000 kids, depend on FoodShare, and with the chaos at the federal level, it’s critical that we do everything we can to support this program that helps kids, families, and seniors across our state. Making sure folks have food to eat is one of the most basic things we do as a society—we should be doing everything we can to make sure Wisconsinites and Americans can access basic necessities like food. It’s pretty simple,” said Gov. Evers. “With rising costs on everything from groceries to gas and federal cuts to basic programs that help thousands access basic necessities like food, Wisconsin’s working families are already struggling to make ends meet. And, unfortunately, thanks to changes under President Trump and Republicans’ so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ things could get a whole lot worse for folks across Wisconsin—and our state’s bottom line. Wisconsin taxpayers are already on the hook for over $284 million in future state budgets because of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ so it was important that we get this bill done to help make sure Wisconsinites don’t have to fork over hundreds of millions of dollars more in penalty fees to the Trump Administration every year.”
Gov. Evers has been asking the Wisconsin State Legislature to approve funds to prevent Wisconsin taxpayers from having to pay penalty fees to the Trump Administration since August. After months of bipartisan negotiations between legislative leaders and the Evers Administration, AB 180 as amended, would appropriate over $72 million to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) for key resources, including funding for the FoodShare Employment and Training program, additional administrative costs that have been shifted onto the state, quality control initiatives to help keep FoodShare error rates low and avoid federal penalties, and more. During bipartisan budget negotiations, Republican leaders gave the governor their word that they would be willing to work together to address outstanding challenges caused by the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’
Last year, Congressional Republicans passed President Trump’s signature legislation, the so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ which cut essential SNAP food assistance by about 20 percent by increasing red tape, gutting nutrition education programs, and forcing states to pay more for SNAP programs like Wisconsin’s FoodShare. Due to these changes, as many as 43,700 Wisconsinites are at immediate risk of losing access to basic food necessities, and independent grocers and convenience stores, which already operate on thin margins and are often the main source of food for Wisconsinites in rural areas, are increasingly concerned about their bottom line and keeping their doors open.
The funding appropriated through AB 180 would include $32.3 million to cover the increase in the state’s share of administrative costs as a result of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ which shifted 75 percent of administrative costs to states, as opposed to the current 50 percent, $16.1 million for additional DHS and county staff positions to achieve and maintain a FoodShare error rate below six percent and avoid federal penalties, and $20.7 million to support an increase in participation in the FoodShare Employment and Training program due to expanded work requirements.
The approval of these funds has been publicly supported by more than 160 nonpartisan organizations who asked the Legislature to take immediate action and provide funding for these changes, noting that “additional delays in providing this funding will put Wisconsin taxpayers at risk of paying for increased costs and will negatively impact communities, businesses, and SNAP recipients across Wisconsin.”
More information regarding the state’s FoodShare program, including how to apply for and manage benefits, is available on DHS’s website.
An online version of this release is available here.
