With the goal of halting welfare abuse, U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) recently introduced a bill that would reform the federal food stamp program to preserve taxpayers’ money and prevent fraud from drug traffickers exploiting public benefits.
Poliquin said that he expects that the bill he authored, the Food Stamp Integrity Act of 2016, will garner bipartisan support in Congress.
“We need to make sure we save the limited amount of money we have in our public assistance programs for those who truly need it, and we also need to make sure there is integrity in the food stamp program such that EBT card benefits are not used for the drug trade,” Poliquin said in an interview with the Ripon Advance.
Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards are debit cards issued to those receiving public benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), to purchase eligible food.
Poliquin said that the amount of fraud in the food stamp program in his state of Maine is “significant.”
In Maine and in other parts of the country, EBT cards have become a type of currency to addicts who sell or trade their cards in exchange for drugs. There have been numerous drug busts in Maine where EBT cards are found registered in another person’s name, with the cardholders often having those cards automatically replaced at taxpayer expense.
Fraud accounts for a small percentage of food stamp benefits nationwide, but is still estimated to total $750 million annually.
“My contention is that’s a lot of money and any fraud is unacceptable. Our families really need this money and we don’t want to further the drug trade, which is killing our kids,” Poliquin said.
The bill attacks SNAP fraud from multiple angles.
Currently, states must automatically issue replacement EBT cards within two days of a card being reported as lost or stolen. States cannot require a recipient to provide a reason for the card replacement until the fourth request. Under Poliquin’s proposal, states can require a face-to-face interview after two replacement cards are requested, and can deny a request to replace an EBT card after four cards are issued to the same person in a 12-month period.
Poliquin’s bill also calls for permanently disqualifying anyone convicted of SNAP fraud or drug trafficking from obtaining SNAP benefits. Under current law, those convicted of SNAP fraud face a one-year ban on receiving benefits, while a drug trafficking offense results in a two-year ban.
Additionally, the legislation proposes changing the law for SNAP recipients who are delinquent on child support payments. Individuals who are late on payments would need to have an approved payment plan in order to receive food stamp benefits under Poliquin’s bill.
In order to receive food stamps under current law, able-bodied adults with no dependents must work, perform community service or increase their educational training. If they fail to do so for three months in a three-year period, they are ineligible for benefits for the remainder of the three years or until they comply. Poliquin’s bill would extend that requirement to four years.
The federal government also allows states to temporarily waive the work requirement for able-bodied adults without dependents who receive SNAP benefits during periods when unemployment is high or when there aren’t enough jobs available. The proposed legislation would remove that waiver.
“The goal of these programs is to help those that are unfortunate get back on their feet and become independent,” Poliquin said. “We don’t want them to be permanently dependent on the government. We want to help them escape poverty and live better lives with more prosperity and more dignity.”