-9.14%

According to analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, from December 2024 to December 2025, the number of Nebraskans receiving benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) declined by 9.14%, largely credited to changes in eligibility implemented by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed in July 2025. SNAP participation has declined in every state over that time period. Across the country, participation has fallen by 2.5 million people between the signing of OBBBA and December of the same year.

Despite this decline in participation, the economic need for food security support in Nebraska has not decreased, as evidenced by our steady 3% unemployment rate in the past year. The latest Nebraska Snapshot, a long-time survey by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Bureau of Sociological Research, indicates that an increasing number of Nebraskans are reporting difficulty paying their bills in 2025, even compared to the pandemic peak years of 2020 and 2021. In 2025, 50% of Nebraskans surveyed said they have some difficulty making ends meet, compared to 18% in 2021.

The future of SNAP remains tenuous as OBBBA will shift significant costs to states beginning in January 2027 or after, depending on their current rate of over- or under-payments, known as their error rate. If Nebraska’s current error rate is maintained, the state will not have to share the cost of benefits with the federal government, but the administrative costs shifting to the state are estimated to total between $13-16 million. For 2026, the administrative costs were included in the mid-biennium budget adjustments passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Pillen. 

$0

The President released his proposed 2027 budget this week, suggesting new levels of government spending in several departments, including the United States Department of Education (DOE). This first step in the budget process often deviates from the final budgets passed by Congress, but this early proposal offers insight into the administration’s priorities for the upcoming year. Due to the current composition of both houses of Congress, budget bills need bipartisan support to avoid the filibuster, so committees of jurisdiction have made significant changes to the President’s proposal in recent years in order to continue government services. 

The House Committee on Education and Workforce and the Senate HELP Committee will evaluate President Trump’s proposals to cut $3 billion or 2.9% from the FY26 level enacted by Congress. Among programs facing cuts are K-12 programs such as English Language Acquisition (Title III of ESSA), which is appropriated $0, effectively eliminating it. This is the second attempt by the President to defund this program, which Congress opted not to include in their final budget package last year. 

According to the Nebraska Department of Education, there were 31,124 students in the English Learner program in the 2024-2025 school year, the most recent year for which data was available. Those students speak a total of 130 distinct languages. A variety of Supreme Court cases and subsequent federal legislation outline a student’s right to English language instruction, so elimination of any level of federal support would be likely to have major impacts on state and school district budgets. 

OpenSky will provide additional analysis of federal budget proposals for their impact on Nebraskans as Congress moves through the budget process.

12

The 109th Nebraska Legislature is set to conclude business next week, adjourning Sine Die and saying goodbye to at least 12 lawmakers, 10 of whom are term limited and another 2 who have declined to run for re-election. This means that at least 24% of the body will not return in January, 2027, including Speaker John Arch and the chairpersons of the Appropriations, Education, Natural Resources, and Transportation & Telecommunications Committees and the Legislature’s Executive Board. 

At OpenSky, we take pride in being a resource to the entire Nebraska Legislature. Legislative candidates wishing to receive reference materials on taxation and budget issues can email Outreach and Engagement Director Lillian Butler-Hale at lbutlerhale@openskypolicy.org.

NOTE: A previous version of this blog post indicated that no former senators were making a bid to return to the Legislature after being term limited. Senator Patty Pansing Brooks is running to return to the Legislature after a 4-year break. OpenSky regrets the error.