Sponsor
Zach Nunn
Representative · R-IA
Representative · R-IA
The bill strengthens detection, coordination, and recovery for EBT benefit theft—protecting and reimbursing low-income SNAP households—while expanding federal investigatory powers, creating privacy/due-process risks, and increasing administrative and fiscal burdens on states and taxpayers.
Low-income SNAP households will be reimbursed for benefits stolen through skimming, cloning, or unauthorized electronic transfers and will not have those reimbursements reduce their monthly allotments or ongoing eligibility.
Federal agencies (USDA OIG) and state partners will have stronger fraud-detection and multi-jurisdictional coordination (including DOJ, FBI, DHS, Secret Service, and financial institutions) plus a central database and technical assistance to detect, investigate, and recover stolen EBT benefits more quickly.
Perpetrators will face penalties equal to twice the value of stolen benefits, creating a stronger deterrent and providing a source of recovered funds to reimburse victims and support enhanced investigations.
SNAP recipients and vendors will be subject to expanded federal data collection, subpoenas/warrants, and administrative enforcement processes, raising privacy, security, and due-process concerns.
Individuals found liable for benefit theft could face doubled financial penalties and increased risk of criminal referrals or prosecution, potentially creating serious hardship for people wrongly accused or involved in minor/ambiguous incidents.
States, EBT processors, and contracted vendors will incur additional compliance, reporting, integration, and administrative costs to detect theft, validate claims, and connect to the central USDA database.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Expands USDA OIG investigative powers, lets States reimburse SNAP victims of benefit theft without penalizing households, and creates civil penalties equal to twice stolen benefits.
Official title: To amend of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 relating to punishment and compensation for the theft of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits; and for other purposes.
Introduced June 10, 2025 by Zach Nunn · Last progress June 10, 2025
Creates new tools to prevent, investigate, and punish theft of SNAP (food stamp) benefits and lets States reimburse households for benefits stolen through no fault of the household. It gives the USDA Office of Inspector General expanded criminal and civil investigative authorities, requires the Secretary to set reimbursement rules and a central reporting database, and establishes civil penalties equal to twice the value of stolen benefits to fund investigations and victim reimbursements. The bill affects SNAP recipients, State agencies that administer electronic benefit transfers, law enforcement and financial institutions involved in investigations, and USDA oversight offices by adding investigatory powers, reporting requirements, and a new remedy to deter and remedy benefit theft and cyber-enabled fraud.