Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens EBT security, recovery processes, and oversight—helping vulnerable families and hardening systems—at the cost of added fiscal and compliance burdens and a risk that caps and rapid implementation could leave some households inadequately compensated or create uneven rollout.
Low-income households (including children) on Summer EBT gain a formal process to recover benefits stolen by card skimming/cloning, reducing immediate loss of food assistance.
States and Tribal governments must adopt industry-aligned security measures for EBT systems, which should reduce fraud and improve overall payment-system security for program participants.
GAO and USDA reporting requirements increase transparency and oversight by identifying where thefts occur, industry gaps, and recommended fixes for taxpayers and program managers.
Households could remain partially uncompensated when theft exceeds a household's prior allotment because replacements are capped at that allotment, prolonging shortfalls in food access for vulnerable families.
Taxpayers may face higher program costs if federal funds are used to replace stolen benefits (subject to caps), raising the fiscal burden of the program.
Retailers, EBT contractors, and smaller jurisdictions will likely incur compliance and equipment upgrade costs to meet new security standards, straining budgets especially for small businesses and small governments.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires USDA rulemaking and state/tribal plans to prevent Summer EBT benefit theft and to provide capped replacement procedures after thefts.
Official title: To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require certain State agencies and covered Indian Tribal organizations to replace summer EBT benefits that are determined to have been stolen, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 4, 2025 by Suzanne Bonamici · Last progress June 4, 2025
Requires USDA to create ongoing guidance and new rules to prevent theft of Summer EBT benefits, including measures to detect card skimming and cloning, procedures to replace stolen benefits (subject to caps), and coordinated reporting with federal, state, tribal, retailer, and contractor partners. States and participating tribes must submit and implement replacement plans quickly (initial plan within 60 days) and replacement payments per household are capped at either the stolen amount or the household's prior allotment. Mandates two congressional reports (one from USDA and one from GAO) on theft frequency, vulnerabilities, industry standards, and recommendations; requires USDA to issue an interim final rule within one year and to coordinate with HHS, DOJ, states, tribes, retailers, and EBT contractors on prevention and response practices.