Twenty-one states have not provided certain information about SNAP recipients to the federal government and are now risking losing their federal funding.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins announced this week that her department is preparing to pause federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding to states that are refusing to provide information about their recipients.
Secretary Rollins said, “We have begun and will begin to stop moving federal funds into those states, until they comply, and they tell us and allow us to partner with them to root out this fraud and to protect these American taxpayers.”
Twenty-nine states have complied with the federal government’s request for the data, which includes recipients’ Social Security numbers, benefit amounts, and home addresses. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia are refusing to provide the information and have entered into a lawsuit suing the USDA over this issue. The USDA intends to use the data to examine and eliminate fraud in the SNAP program nationwide.
A lawsuit brought against the USDA by the states that have refused to provide the data is ongoing. Most recently, a federal judge in California issued a temporary injunction that bars the federal government from collecting the data or withholding funds from states that did not provide it. The USDA has until December 15 to appeal this decision.
The federal money that would be withheld typically assists with the administrative costs of the program, rather than the money for the benefits themselves.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For wisdom for Secretary Rollins as she works with the various states and territories to coordinate SNAP benefit funding.
- For discernment for the judges who will be hearing arguments in the lawsuit over SNAP information and funding.
- For God’s provision for those in the U.S. who are currently struggling to feed their families.
Sources: MSN, The City, NOTUS, USA Today, Politico
