Kansas Republican Reps. Ron Estes and Tracey Mann are pressing Gov. Laura Kelly (D) to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on data requests tied to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), raising concerns about millions of dollars in incorrect payments and the risk of federal funding cuts.
In a September 3 letter, the two lawmakers accused Kelly’s administration of refusing to “protect the integrity” of SNAP and demanded she work with USDA officials to improve oversight.
The two lawmakers pointed to federal and state findings showing Kansas had a SNAP payment error rate of nearly 10 percent in 2024, followed by a Kansas House Select Committee report in spring 2025 that placed the rate closer to 12 percent. They contended those errors amount to millions of tax dollars sent to ineligible recipients.
“By refusing to correct the SNAP error rate in Kansas, Governor Kelly has allowed millions of Kansas taxpayer dollars to be incorrectly sent to fraudsters, negatively impacting Kansans who rely on the program,” Estes told Breitbart News. “Today we are demanding Governor Kelly work with the USDA to strengthen the SNAP program in Kansas and correct the waste of our constituents’ hard-earned dollars.”
Estes Mann Letter to Gov Kelly on Usda Snap Data by jmanship
Mann added in a statement to Breitbart News, “Kansans work hard for every dollar they earn, and they expect their government to be a good steward of their tax dollars. Rather than working with the federal government to correct Kansas’ high SNAP error rate, Governor Kelly’s administration has refused to comply or even attempt to restore integrity in how our state tax dollars are spent in the program.”
The lawmakers’ letter came after weeks of escalating exchanges between Kansas officials and USDA. On August 20, the agency issued a formal warning, giving the state 30 days to submit enrollment data needed to investigate overpayments and fraud. USDA cautioned that failure to comply could cost Kansas more than $10.4 million per quarter in federal SNAP administrative funding. On September 2, Estes echoed that warning in a post on X, writing: “Kansans deserve to know their tax dollars are being used correctly. @GovLauraKelly needs to stop stonewalling and work with @USDA to root out waste, fraud, and abuse from SNAP.”
Kansas Department for Children and Families Secretary Laura Howard declined to provide the requested data by the July 30 deadline, referencing a pending lawsuit by several states challenging USDA’s authority and noting that compliance could create “potential liability.” Howard maintained the request “goes beyond the scope of administering the program and puts in jeopardy the privacy of hundreds of thousands of Kansans who depend on SNAP to put food on their tables.”
House Speaker Dan Hawkins (R) has also weighed in, accusing the Kelly administration of withholding information and calling the situation “a massive cover-up of waste, fraud, and abuse.” Hawkins cited multiple USDA letters under both the Biden and Trump administrations urging Kansas to fix its error rate and comply with reporting rules.
Kelly’s office has rejected those accusations. In a statement to local media, her Chief of Staff Will Lawrence dismissed Hawkins’s comments as “a baseless claim by a career politician,” arguing that Kansas’s error rate has improved and is in line with neighboring states.
Estes and Mann concluded their joint letter by demanding that Kelly’s administration “drop its intentional obstruction” and work with USDA to strengthen the program. “Our constituents deserve transparency and accountability for every dollar spent on SNAP; anything less is a disservice to our communities and our state,” they wrote.
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