The day before President Trump’s “big beautiful bill” was passed by the House (215-214), at the House Rules Committee hearing on Wednesday morning, U.S. Representative Shontel Brown (D-OH) proposed an amendment to strike a provision in the bill that lowers the age of a dependent child from 18 to 7 for recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
BREAKING: In a shocking moment, Rep. Shontel Brown exposes the cruel MAGA plan “that lowers the age of what we call a dependent child from 18 to 7.” Brown’s amendment strikes that ludicrous provision from Trump’s bill.
Have Republicans lost their minds? pic.twitter.com/1aPpMcFNSC
— Really American
(@ReallyAmerican1) May 21, 2025
Currently, SNAP allows the parents and caregivers of children under 18 “a little flexibility,” says Brown.
If they can’t meet the required 80 hour a month work requirement, they don’t lose access to food. According to Brown, “This bill changes that.”
Brown said the “big bad ugly bill…pulls away basic benefits from the moment a child turns seven.” She repeated, “Seven,” and added: “That is a cold, calculated cut that targets struggling families…it is cruel.”
Note: According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), there are approximately 3 million adults who receive SNAP benefits and live with dependents who would be impacted by the change, as well as 4 million children aged between 7 and 17.
Tonight, I spoke out in the Rules Committee against the cold, calculated cuts in Trump’s Big Bad Ugly Bill and filed an amendment to undo their SNAP cuts targeting families.
This bill ignores the real lives of working class families and makes their lives harder, not easier. pic.twitter.com/4tDfbcuNpz
— Rep. Shontel Brown (@RepShontelBrown) May 22, 2025
Brown added: “This bill doesn’t serve working families, it punishes them…it doesn’t encourage stability or self-sufficiency, it punishes poverty. And it sends a dangerous message, if you are struggling, you are on your own.”
As one of her constituents replied: “Have Republicans lost their minds?
Note: In the bill, there is an exception to the work requirements for a person responsible for a child 7 years or older who is married and resides with an individual who complies with the SNAP work requirements.