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USDA Warns It Will Withhold SNAP Administrative Funds From States Refusing Data

A preliminary court order blocks the plan for now, with the department facing a Dec. 15 appeal deadline.

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A sign highlights nutrition incentive program Double Up Oklahoma at an Oklahoma City grocery store. The program matches up $20 a day of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program spending for produce. Programs like these are vital for low-income families, advocates say. Anna Pope/Harvest Public Media
A person shops for produce, which is covered by the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), at a grocery store in Baltimore earlier in November.

Overview

  • At a televised Cabinet meeting, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said noncompliant states have until next week to provide three years of SNAP recipient data or the USDA will start halting federal administrative payments.
  • USDA says 28 states and Guam have supplied the data while 22 Democratic-led states have not; the request covers names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, immigration status and transaction records.
  • The department clarified it is targeting administrative funds rather than direct benefits, but experts warn a funding freeze could force staff cuts and office closures that slow applications, recertifications and payments.
  • A California federal judge issued an October injunction barring both data collection and withholding; multiple states and D.C. are suing over privacy and legality, and some states report a Dec. 8 response window from USDA.
  • Rollins cited alleged large-scale fraud, including 186,000 deceased Social Security numbers and 500,000 duplicate payments, though independent analyses say most SNAP errors are administrative rather than deliberate fraud, and Democratic governors condemned the threat as harmful and political.