Section 10102 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act strikes veterans from the list of SNAP recipients excused from the program's three-month time limit, so food aid for a veteran age 18 to 64 with no child under 14 at home and no other exemption now depends on documenting 80 hours a month of work or training; Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin's 3rd District congressman, was a yes on that law on July 3, 2025, and about 18,000 Wisconsin veterans live in households that get SNAP.
The law also puts BadgerCare Plus adults under a work-hours rule whose veterans exemption is limited to a disability rated total, so a Wisconsin veteran with a partial rating will have to show the hours or another exemption, or lose coverage, once enforcement begins on January 1, 2027.
Derrick Van Orden's Votes on Food Aid and Health Coverage for Veterans
- Section 10102 Ends Veterans' Exemption From SNAP's Time Limit, Enacted With Van Orden's July 2025 Vote. Derrick Van Orden was a yes on the final law on July 3, 2025, as it passed 218 to 214. In section 10102, the law redrew SNAP's work rules for adults who have no dependents and took veterans out of the categories exempt from the time limit. A veteran between 18 and 64 who has no child younger than 14 at home and qualifies for no other exemption now loses SNAP after three months unless the hours are documented; roughly 1.2 million low-income veterans across the country rely on SNAP, Stateline reported, citing research from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
- A Medicaid Work Rule Whose Veterans Exemption Covers Only Total Disability Ratings Puts Partially Disabled Veterans' BadgerCare at Risk, Enacted With Van Orden's July 2025 Vote. That same law, approved 218 to 214 on July 3, 2025 with Van Orden's vote, obliges covered Medicaid adults to log 80 hours of work or other qualifying activity each month, which in Wisconsin means BadgerCare Plus adults with no children under 19 at home. Its veterans exemption applies only to someone who "is a veteran with a disability rated as total under section 1155 of title 38". Unless some other exemption fits, a veteran with a partial disability rating who relies on BadgerCare has to document the hours or risk losing coverage, and Wisconsin's health department expects about 200,000 adults to be subject to the requirement.
What Derrick Van Orden's Votes Mean for Wisconsin Veterans
- Some 18,000 Wisconsin veterans live in SNAP households, and those under the work rule can no longer claim a veterans exemption. Roughly one Wisconsin veteran in sixteen, about 18,000 of the state's 290,000, shared a home with SNAP benefits over 2021 to 2023, by a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities tally. Those of them who fall under SNAP's work rule can no longer claim a veterans exemption from the three-month limit.
- BadgerCare's work rule puts 63,000 Wisconsinites at risk, among them veterans with partial ratings and no other exemption. Wisconsin's health department estimates some 63,000 BadgerCare members could lose coverage under the work rule. New applicants must meet it starting January 1, 2027 and most current members at renewals due from March 31, 2027, and the department's exemption list includes veterans with a total (100%) disability rating.
Frequently Asked Questions About Derrick Van Orden on Veterans
What is Derrick Van Orden's record on veterans under Trump?
Derrick Van Orden's July 3, 2025 yes on final passage helped write into law section 10102, which strips veterans of their old protection from SNAP's three-month limit. Its Medicaid work rule's veterans exemption also covers only a disability rated total. Wisconsin has about 18,000 veterans in SNAP households, and BadgerCare's version of the work rule begins January 1, 2027.
What does the SNAP change in Derrick Van Orden's vote require of a veteran in western Wisconsin?
Because of the law Derrick Van Orden voted for, a working-age Wisconsin veteran, 18 to 64, who has no qualifying disability and no child under 14 at home is now subject to SNAP's time limit; FoodShare ends after three months unless the veteran logs 80 hours of work or training in each month.
Does a veteran on BadgerCare in western Wisconsin with a partial VA disability rating have to meet the work rule Derrick Van Orden voted for?
In most cases, yes: under the law Derrick Van Orden voted for, a veteran is exempt as a veteran only with a disability rated total, and Wisconsin's health department lists veterans with a total (100%) rating among those excused, so a partially rated veteran must meet the rule unless another exemption, such as medical frailty, applies. Its own training example is a 27-year-old veteran with a 20% rating and no children at home who must meet the requirement to enroll.
Last updated: 2026-10-27