SNAP reimbursements cut from Trump-backed spending proposal
An Illinois Department of Human Services office clerk demonstrates the activation of an Illinois Link card. The federal reimbursements available for such cards that have been skimmed and had benefits stolen could end Dec. 20 without legislation to extend the program. Tim Boyle/Getty Images
By
Natalie Alms
Although the future of the Republican bill is uncertain, the stopgap measure released Thursday does not include reimbursements for people whose federal food benefits are skimmed.
As Congress sorts out government funding with a shutdown looming at the end of Friday, replacements for stolen food benefits may also be in jeopardy.
Unlike most modern payment methods, which have moved to chip cards or mobile payment to prevent skimming, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is still delivered on cards without chips. That makes them more vulnerable to this type of theft, where criminals use devices on point-of-sale machines to copy card data and PIN entries, make cloned cards and take the money.
Congress set up a temporary measure for states to use federal funds to replace stolen benefits in the 2023 funding law, but that will expire at the end of the current stopgap on Friday without action from lawmakers.
Over 40 million people get SNAP every month. And over $150 million in benefits have been replaced since the start of 2023 — although that number likely doesn’t even fully capture the scope of the problem, which emerged in 2021.
The first stopgap measure unveiled earlier this week after bipartisan negotiations included a provision to extend the federal replacement provision through the end of September in 2028.
But the second bill from Republicans, cobbled together after President-elect Donald Trump sank the first deal, does not include any extension. Last night, the House failed to pass that bill when it was put to a vote, leaving what happens next unclear. Only two Democrats voted for the measure and over 30 Republicans didn’t vote for the bill.
“SNAP theft is a crime that is affecting every community in the country — with the most vulnerable of victims — and I can’t imagine why this isn’t a higher priority for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle,” Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., previously told Nextgov/FCW in a statement.
Some states are working to move to chip cards to help stop the problem, but the Agriculture Department does not have a timeline for when all states will move to the more secure cards. Agriculture rulemaking on the security of the electronic benefit cards used to deliver SNAP is also delayed, although the department says that it's encouraging states to move ahead to the more secure cards anyways.
“Families relying on food assistance from SNAP will face significant confusion and hardship if the ability to replace stolen benefits abruptly expires after midnight,” said Chloe Green, the manager of the Food and Nutrition Services portfolio at the American Public Human Services Association, a bipartisan national membership association for state, county and city human services agencies.
Without the federal reimbursement, states will have to look to their own budgets to continue any reimbursements and many likely won’t be able to continue replacing stolen funds, she previously told Nextgov/FCW.
“This sudden ending also creates substantial challenges for state agencies, which must quickly update systems and communications to mitigate household confusion. APHSA urges Congress to adopt the originally proposed four-year extension to prevent families from bearing this burden,” Green said.
Lawmakers previously prevented a lapse in these reimbursements by including them in the September stopgap that’s now set to expire.
“SNAP is a vital nutrition safety net for low-income Americans. When benefits are stolen, SNAP participants’ ability to feed their families is threatened,” an Agriculture spokesperson told Nextgov/FCW recently. “Only Congress can extend the replacement of stolen benefits by extending the law that provides federal reimbursement to states for stolen benefit replacement.”