Microchips in EBT cards could be one way to reduce fraud, though that likely wouldn’t eliminate it entirely, Krebs, the security expert, said. ![]() In the meantime, he said, he hoped publicity around it would pressure state executives to use their surplus money to help skimming victims.Ĭindy Long, administrator of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, called SNAP skimming “deplorable.” In a statement, the Agriculture Department said it welcomed “opportunities to work with Members of Congress, including Representative Ruppersberger, our federal and state partners, and other stakeholders engaged in this policy area on ways to better detect and prevent such fraud from occurring in the future.” Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., became a co-sponsor.īut with Congress racing to pass the omnibus spending bill, Ruppersberger’s bill is unlikely to get attention anytime soon. Ruppersberger’s bill to remove regulations that prohibit federal funds from being used to reinstate stolen SNAP benefits garnered bipartisan support Tuesday, when Rep. James Hafner with his girlfriend, Victoria Smith, and his son, Jadan. They only found out when they tried to pay for a cart full of groceries and were told the card had insufficient funds. Hafner, of Charlotte, Tennessee, was between subcontractor jobs in October when the EBT card he and his girlfriend use got skimmed of $460. “The focus should be on immediately reissuing and restoring those benefits.” ‘They took every penny’ “It doesn’t matter to them if it’s the state or the federal funding,” said Michelle Salomon Madaio, director of economic justice at the civil legal services organization Homeless Persons Representation Project in Maryland. ![]() In the meantime, anti-hunger advocates say there’s no reason states can’t fill the gap for SNAP skimming victims. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., introduced a bill to allow federal funds to be used for SNAP reimbursement, which is awaiting hearings in the House Committee on Agriculture. Benefits are distributed once monthly through EBT cards, which function like debit cards. Eligibility is based on income, among other factors, with $232.72 being the average monthly benefit for a SNAP participant.
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