Barrett Helps Introduce Bill to Address Rampant Food Stamp Fraud

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Tom Barrett (MI-07) helped introduce the SNAP Fraud Reporting Act to begin addressing rampant fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), enhance transparency for the American people, and preserve the program for the most vulnerable. Specifically, this bill would require states to share all information related to program implementation, including fraud metrics, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Congress.

“Americans deserve to know where their federal tax dollars are going, and thanks to little to no oversight at the state level, they are being recklessly wasted on fraudulent food stamp accounts,” said Barrett. “ Rooting out this fraud and restoring long overdue accountability is a critical step toward giving the families that truly rely on this program for supplemental support the certainty they need to put food on the table.

Initial USDA data from 29 states showed that nearly 200,000 deceased individuals' Social Security numbers (SSNs) were fraudulently used to receive SNAP benefits. Currently, 21 states are suing USDA to keep their SNAP fraud data hidden from the federal government despite being a congressionally authorized program.

Barrett joined Representatives Dave Taylor (OH-02), Lauren Boebert (CO-04), Barry Moore (AL-01), Nancy Mace (SC-01), Tony Wied (WI-08), Wesley Hunt (TX-38), and Andy Harris (MD-01) in introducing this legislation.

Background:

According to Propel, a company that provides a mobile app for people to manage their benefits, an estimated $349 million in SNAP benefits were stolen in the first half of 2025 alone. Additionally, over 670,000 households receiving SNAP assistance had their benefits stolen between 2023 and 2025, totaling $320 million.

Click here to read the bill.