Rep. Nancy Mace (R-NC) introduced the Food Assistance Integrity and Responsibility (FAIR) Act this week, designed to weed out fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in part by requiring a photo ID on the EBT cards.
An emailed press release from Mace’s office notes that there is currently “little to no identity verification when a SNAP EBT card is used, opening the door to card sharing, unauthorized purchases, stolen cards being exploited, and taxpayer dollars going to people who aren’t legally eligible at all.”
As a result, millions of fraudulent benefits have been approved:
Across the country, states are reporting massive losses from SNAP fraud and misuse. In just the first quarter of FY 2025, more than $102 million in stolen or fraudulent benefits were approved. During this same period, states recorded over 226,000 fraudulent SNAP claims and 691,000 unauthorized transactions nationwide, including 4,209 stolen benefits in South Carolina.
In order to help fix this massive fraud drain, Mace introduced this bill, which would first and foremost require a photo ID on every EBT card, ensuring that the individual using it is, in fact, the authorized user the benefits are intended for. The bill would also allow states to “issue additional photo-verified cards for households with multiple authorized users,” all while requiring retailers to verify the photo on these cards before transactions are completed. According to the press release, accommodations would be made for caregivers helping those who need assistance.
If passed, the bill would give the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) a year and a half to update its regulations.
In a statement accompanying the press release, Mace said taxpayers “have had enough of watching their hard-earned dollars abused by people with no legal right to these benefits.”
She continued, “This isn’t complicated, if you’re eligible for SNAP, your photo goes on the card and you’re the only one who uses it. Not fraudsters, not criminals, not someone borrowing a card they have no right to use. This is basic common sense, fairness, and protecting taxpayers and the American families who truly need food assistance.”
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has also been working to weed out fraud in the SNAP program, announcing last month that approximately “186,000 deceased men and women and children in this country are receiving a check.”
“Now, that is what we’re really gonna start clamping down on. Half a million are getting two,” she said. “But here’s the really stunning thing. This is just data from those 29 mostly red states. Can you image when we get our hands on the blue state data what we’re gonna find?”
During a Cabinet meeting this week, Rollins announced that USDA will halt federal funding to states that refuse to share their data on SNAP.
“In February of this year, we asked for all the states — for the first time — to turn over their data to the federal government to let the USDA partner with them to root out this fraud to make sure that those who really need food stamps are getting them,” she said. “But also to ensure that the American taxpayer is protected. Twenty-nine states said yes, not surprisingly the red states, and that’s where all of that data, that fraud comes from.”
Twenty-one states refused to comply, including California, New York, and Minnesota.
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