Burchett Opens Hearing on Combating Fraud in SNAP

WASHINGTON-Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency Chairman Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) delivered opening remarks at today's hearing on "Combating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in SNAP." In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chairman Burchett underscored how Americans have lost millions in taxes to fraud within the program and that roughly $10 billion in SNAP benefits were improperly paid out by states. He also noted that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has identified $3 billion in potential fraud and that some states have refused to comply with the department's request to provide critical SNAP data in order to crack down on further fraud.

Below are Subcommittee Chairman Burchett's opening remarks as prepared for delivery:

Good morning.

We are here today to examine waste, fraud, and abuse in one of the largest government welfare programs.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-also known as SNAP-provides $100 billion annually in federal food assistance.

Every SNAP dollar is intended to help feed eligible individuals in need.

But that's not where every dollar goes. Not by a longshot.

In one state, SNAP enrollees owned more than 14,000 luxury vehicles, including Lamborghinis and Bentleys, due to an eligibility loophole.

And in 2024, 10 billion dollars in SNAP benefits were improperly paid out by the States, which are charged with administering the program.

The Government Accountability Office reports that these payment errors are mostly failures to verify recipients met all eligibility criteria-such as being in this country legally.

Loopholes and incorrect SNAP payments are costly enough. But the tax dollars lost to outright fraud may be greater. For instance, the Government Accountability Office has estimated that SNAP trafficking alone is a $5 billion annual industry.

Trafficking occurs when a crooked store owner profits off taxpayers by turning benefits into cash. For example, a customer swipes the E.B.T. card for $200 in "groceries," the clerk gives back $100 cash and pockets the difference. The customer then uses the cash to buy ineligible items, such as alcohol or cigarettes.

To address fraud in federal benefit programs, the President created, in March, the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, led by Vice President Vance.

Building on DOGE efforts, the Task Force is working to eliminate "data silos" that make it hard to access the data needed to verify recipient eligibility and to flag potential fraud.

If SNAP recipient data stays in state-specific databases, for instance, individuals can apply for and receive SNAP benefits from multiple states.

That's why Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requested SNAP beneficiary and transaction data for the past five years from all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Data came in from 29 states, nearly all under Republican governance, including my own state of Tennessee.

With the data received, USDA reports identifying $3 billion in potential fraud and waste, including benefits being sent to 186,000 dead people, to 442,000 applicants with fraudulent Social Security numbers, and to hundreds of thousands of individuals who got duplicate benefits by submitting applications to multiple jurisdictions.

But we do not know the full extent of the problems because many states, including some of those with the most SNAP beneficiaries, like California, refused to comply with the Agriculture Department's data request.

That's disappointing. The fight against fraud should not be a partisan issue.

That's why, yesterday, I sent request letters to the non-compliant states with the highest number of SNAP beneficiaries.

My letters demand to know why they refuse to release data about federal taxpayer-funded spending. It also demands their communications and correspondence about the Administration's data request.

Federal taxpayers deserve to know what Governor Newsom and his counterparts in other states are trying to hide-and at what cost.

Congress must put safeguards and provide oversight on these programs.