Sponsor
Nicole Malliotakis
Representative · R-NY
Representative · R-NY
The bill strengthens anti-fraud measures and modernizes EBT technology to better protect and restore SNAP benefits, but does so at the risk of significant up-front costs, increased administrative burdens, potential privacy impacts, and possible short-term disruptions to benefit access.
Low-income SNAP households will face stronger protections against EBT fraud and a greater ability to recover stolen benefits because of expanded investigations, tougher civil penalties for fraud, and migration to chip/tokenized payments.
Low-income beneficiaries will get faster and more accessible EBT card replacements and reduced out-of-pocket costs (3-business-day replacements, mail/pickup options, and fee exceptions), improving continuity of benefits.
States, vendors, and the USDA will have clearer technical standards and modernization timelines (chip-enabled cards, tokenization, NIST-based authentication), reducing procurement uncertainty and improving transaction security.
Low-income SNAP recipients and their privacy may face increased data disclosure and reduced public transparency because vendors and processors must provide data for investigations and some findings may be placed in restricted annexes.
States, small retailers (especially in rural areas), and taxpayers may bear substantial upfront costs to reissue cards, install chip terminals, and upgrade systems, straining budgets and risking loss of small SNAP retailers.
SNAP recipients risk harsh civil penalties or financial liability and slower benefit restoration if enforcement errs or interprets 'knowingly' access broadly, and using penalties to fund enforcement could create perverse incentives.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Gives USDA OIG expanded fraud powers, creates double-value civil penalties, mandates EBT cybersecurity and chip cards/terminals, and speeds replacement/no-fee rules for EBT cards.
Official title: To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to require the promulgation of cybersecurity regulations and implementation of EMV technology relating to the use of EBT cards under the supplemental nutrition assistance program, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 2, 2026 by Nicole Malliotakis · Last progress February 2, 2026
Strengthens federal tools to prevent and prosecute theft and fraud of SNAP benefits by giving the USDA Inspector General expanded investigative and subpoena powers, creating a civil penalty equal to twice stolen benefits, and directing new cybersecurity standards for EBT cards and mobile payments. It also requires chip-enabled payment terminals for SNAP merchants, sets faster replacement and no-fee rules for lost or malfunctioning EBT cards, directs reports on EBT security (including Puerto Rico), and makes technical edits to existing EBT fraud law. The law phases in regulatory deadlines (including a two-year rulemaking for EBT cybersecurity), creates compliance windows for states and retailers (60–180 days or up to five years for full card reissuance), and allows recovered penalty funds to reimburse households and support investigations.