If Congress doesn’t act by September 30, low-income families robbed of food supplies will no longer be able to receive compensation.
A deadline is looming amid ongoing electronic thefts, called skimming, from participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. The federally funded, state-run program helps more than 41 million people across the country buy fresh fruits, vegetables and other foods, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Beginning in late 2022, states are allowed to use federal dollars to reimburse victims of SNAP skimming. provision passed by legislators. That policy expires at the end of the month, though, and the vast majority of states have no plans to dip into their coffers to restore stolen benefits if federal payments run out.
“Congress must act now,” he said. Advocated on behalf of victims of SNAP skimming for years. “It’s frustrating and frankly very confusing that they’re not making it a priority.”
SNAP skimming continues to be a widespread problem. It shows data from the Department of Agriculture About 125,000 households nationwide received more than $61.5 million in federal reimbursements between fiscal year 2023 and the first part of fiscal year 2024, Ruppersberger said, an underestimate.
In the case of Ruppersberger leading bilateral efforts He said the prospects for extending compensation to victims of SNAP skimming appear dim. independent account past the 30th, especially since Congress is mostly trying to prevent a government shutdown before October 1st.
Again, the issue caught the attention of the Biden administration wrote a letter He teased a continuing resolution proposed Monday to keep the federal government running. Among other criticisms, the letter criticized the CR for “failing to protect food assistance for vulnerable families whose benefits have been stolen”.
Complex crime
Skimming is not unique to SNAP participants, who receive their money on debit-like cards with magnetic strips swiped at cash registers. But unlike debit cards, their electronic preference transfer cards lack embedded microchips and other security features that prevent theft, such as contactless payments. Buyers also lack permanent federal consumer protections that allow them to replace stolen funds.
No state issues SNAP EBT cards with microchips, a weakness that skimmers exploit through sophisticated tactics, including placing plastic keypad covers on the terminals themselves that are nearly identical to card-swipe terminals.
Stealth devices copy EBT card data, including users’ PIN codes. (see a Skimming overlays image here.) Then the information is put on fake cards called clones so that the people lose their earnings.
Some lawmakers expressed frustration at the slow progress toward making the cards more secure. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. proposed the bill in March it would require chip-equipped SNAP EBT cards and other safeguards, but the bill has yet to be introduced.
“This is a textbook government failure,” Wyden said in a phone interview. “It’s basically a security vulnerability that invites criminals to steal food from needy families and rip off tax dollars.”
Two states have committed to switching to microchip EBT cards. In California, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Social Services said it plans to switch to chip cards starting in early 2025. And in Oklahoma, a spokeswoman for Oklahoma Human Services said it plans to introduce chip cards next summer.
Updated technology can significantly reduce theft. Oklahoma Human Services said more than 2,600 families in the state had more than $1.4 million in benefits changed between July 1, 2023 and June 30 due to skimming or other fraud.
California, one of several states that uses its own funds to replace stolen SNAP benefits when federal payments are unavailable, has reimbursed nearly $120 million through the end of 2021. This figure includes both federal and non-federal fees. State dollars, according to the state Department of Social Services.
Cindy Long, the deputy secretary of agriculture for food, nutrition and consumer services, called SNAP a “vital food safety net” in a statement to NBC News, saying, “USDA is working on multiple fronts to combat skimming at the first place. , including upcoming regulatory action.” Long also called on Congress to extend federal compensation for stolen benefits.
Ashley Burnside, senior policy analyst at the nonprofit Center for Law and Social Policy, said the federal provision has some restrictions on who is eligible for compensation, and it hasn’t been a “perfect solution.” But it helped many families.
“SNAP buyers are not doing anything wrong. Skimming is an incredibly complex crime that can be very difficult to catch,” he said. “And the obsolescence of card technology is not the fault of SNAP recipients.”
Gina, a SNAP participant in Boston, went missing in July when she asked that her last name be withheld because she was concerned that being open about her finances could hurt her career. When she tried to pay for an online grocery order, she said, she discovered the thieves had taken about $960 from her account and left her with just over $1.
Gina, a single mother of three, said she felt “outright panic – just shocked and kind of broken” when she found out her benefits had ended.
A week later, the money was restored. Before that, “I basically spent the whole week standing in line at food pantries, praying that they would replace my benefits,” she said.
Short-term cuts to SNAP benefits could be disastrous for many households, said Vicky Negus, a policy attorney at the Massachusetts Institute for Legal Reform, a nonprofit poverty law and policy center that advocates for statewide victim compensation. Najashi said this could have a ripple effect, threatening people’s ability to pay their rent or utility bills. She also heard from parents who had to skip meals to feed their children.
Unless Congress extends federal payments after Sept. 30, most states won’t accept the badge. Except for California, only a handful of states use public dollars to restore SNAP benefits, according to the American Association for Public Human Services, which represents state and local human services agencies. The association said that Washington also uses its funds.
“If Congress doesn’t take advantage of this opportunity, you’re going to have very few families in a very small number of states who can participate in redistricting, and families in all other states will have no chance,” Necashi said. “It’s unfair.”
Gina said she was worried she might fall out of favor again. In addition to extending federal payments, he said he hopes EBT card security will be updated soon.
“It seems to me that this is a very simple problem with a simple solution,” he said.