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Hearing Hearing Date: September 26, 2018 10:00 am 2154 Rayburn HOB

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Fraud

Subject
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Fraud
Date
September 26, 2018
Time
10:00 am
Place
2154 Rayburn HOB
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PURPOSE:
  • To discuss how to combat Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud from both a federal and state perspective.
  • To explore how Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) can more effectively assist states in the program’s administration.
BACKGROUND:
  • SNAP is a federal aid program administered through the Department of Agriculture’s FNS division that offers nutritional assistance to eligible, low-income individuals and families. In Fiscal Year 2017, SNAP spending totaled $68 billion for 42.1 million recipients, funded fully by federal taxpayers.
  • In 2016, states conducted more than 963,000 recipient fraud investigations, determining these cases cost SNAP nearly $593 million in program loss. FNS determined retailers trafficked more than $3 billion in SNAP benefits between 2012 and 2014 – equivalent to roughly 1.5 percent of total SNAP benefits redeemed.
  • SNAP was last authorized in 2014, and is set to expire in September 2018. Proposed legislation for the 2018 Farm Bill includes various reform proposals for SNAP, including changes intended to reduce errors and fraud.
Witnesses and testimonies: Ann Coffey

Assistant Inspector General Investigations
USDA Inspector General

Document

Tarren Bragdon

President and CEO
The Foundation for Government Accountability

Document

Thomas Roth

Director, Fraud Investigations Unit
Maine Department Health Human Services

Document

Dr. Craig Gundersen

Soybean Industry Endowed Professor in Agricultural Strategy
University of Illinois

Document