Out-of-date payment systems are leaving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal food assistance program for low-income households, vulnerable to theft. An Iowa member of the U.S. House is sponsoring legislation he says would strengthen investigations into SNAP fraud and restore payments to people whose benefits are stolen.
Iowa's 3rd District Rep. Zach Nunn met with a recent victim of SNAP theft to introduce his proposal. David Schroeder, a 65-year-old Army veteran, had his $64 in monthly benefits stolen earlier this month. He later learned they were used in New Jersey.
Schroeder said nothing like it had happened before in the decades he has participated in SNAP.
“I don’t understand why. I still don’t understand why,” Schroeder said, speaking from the front step of his home in Des Moines. “I've been getting the same thing every year for 20 years. Never had no problem whatsoever. Why now? Have no idea. Like I said before, I sure hope the person in New Jersey needs them more than I do.”
A refugee family in Des Moines also lost $900 in benefits this month. They learned the money was missing when they went grocery shopping and were told there was no money on their SNAP card.
According to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, the state has received 395 calls regarding stolen SNAP benefits and 119 official reports of fraud so far in May.
Nunn said SNAP participants are at risk of theft because Iowa is one of many states still using EBT cards with magnetic strips that are vulnerable to tampering. Scammers often use skimmers or other techniques to steal card users’ information. He said states need to invest in chip cards that are more secure.
"So what our bill intends to do is, until those states make that upgrade, is make sure those that are defrauded get an immediate reimbursement,” Nunn said. “It’s not the victim’s fault that the enforcement mechanism hasn’t caught up or that the protection from the states isn’t there yet.”
Returning to repayments for stolen SNAP
There was a temporary national program in place to repay people for stolen SNAP funds, but it ended in December.
In federal fiscal year 2024, 1,113 claims were approved from Iowans who had SNAP benefits stolen, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture data. The total value of those claims reached $646,627.
Nunn said his bill would allow a victim to report SNAP theft and receive reimbursement if their claim is found to be credible.
"One thing we're going to do is make sure that a victim is not part of the fraudster ring,” Nunn said. “But more importantly, we have a centralized office in the Office of the Inspector General at USDA who'd be able to verify [claims] and, once verified, you wouldn't have to go through a waiver process. It'd be an automatic reimbursement for a loss.”
Nunn said his proposal would centralize fraud investigations within the USDA, which would make it easier to pursue thieves who work across multiple states.
The changes to SNAP theft investigations and repayments did not make it into the massive federal budget reconciliation bill, also called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, that narrowly passed out of the U.S. House. But Nunn believes the plan could find enough bipartisan support to pass on its own, or it may be able to find its way into the Farm Bill.
“This is something that's not only intolerable for the individual, this is going to bleed out a system that's here to protect the most vulnerable,” Nunn said.
More changes to SNAP in House budget bill
The House reconciliation package does make other changes to the SNAP program.
According to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate, a set of proposals including expanded work requirements for adults up to 64-years-old and parents of school-aged children could result in 3.2 million fewer people across the U.S. receiving benefits.
The bill would also shift more SNAP administrative costs and some costs for SNAP benefits to the states.
In the past, the federal government and state governments have split administrative costs while benefits have been fully covered by the federal government.
Under the House plan, states with low error rates, below 6%, would take on a 5% share of the cost of SNAP benefits.
Based on Iowa’s most recent error rate of about 5%, the state would have to pay $26 million to cover SNAP benefits starting in fiscal year 2028, according to an analysis by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
States that have high error rates would pay a penalty by taking on a greater cost shift. The CBO estimated the shift would save the federal government $128 billion by 2034.
Nunn said he supports the “carrot and stick” approach toward states that make more payment errors.
“They now not only have skin in the game, they've got to cover their error rates on themselves,” Nunn said. “I think it's probably the best way to get states to do this right.”
The House package faces an uncertain path in the Senate, where some Republicans have said federal spending cuts run too deep while other have said they don’t go deep enough.
Nunn said the Senate has a role to play in moving the package to President Donald Trump.
“And it's not to rewrite the bill, but to build on what's already advanced,” he said.
This story has been updated with information from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services about the number of calls and fraud reports the agency has received regarding SNAP theft.
