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USDA Flags Deceased and Duplicate SNAP Recipients, Pledges Crackdown Next Week

The agriculture chief cites preliminary state data as she prepares an enforcement plan for next week.

Overview

  • Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said a review of data from 29 cooperating states found thousands of deceased people receiving SNAP and roughly 500,000 duplicate benefits under the same name.
  • Rollins said 21 states declined to share data with the federal review, and she noted that two of those states have sued the administration.
  • She said the department will unveil "very big" enforcement and reform actions next week as part of a broader crackdown on benefit fraud.
  • SNAP serves nearly 42 million people at an annual federal cost above $100 billion, and USDA estimated about 11.7% of payments were improper in fiscal year 2023.
  • Rollins also asserted that in the participating states, a large share of recipients were able-bodied adults who were not primary caregivers.