A proposed law would mandate that states claw back billions in overpayments to recipients of the federal food stamps program.

The alleged waste and fraud were ignored during the COVID-19 pandemic but lawmakers now want an accounting of it from states.

(Video Credit: Forbes Breaking News)

“A staggering $11 billion in overpayments were delivered to recipients in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as the food stamps program, according to 2022 federal data — up from $3.4 billion in 2019,” the New York Post reported.

“But the US Department of Agriculture and states that administer food stamp aid to recipients all but abandoned clawing back the funds since 2019 — before the COVID-19 pandemic, said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa),” the media outlet noted.

(Video Credit: Eyewitness News ABC7NY)

Ernst pointed out that the actual cost of the incompetency and possible fraud is unknown because overpayment errors that totaled $54 or less per recipient were exempt from collection.

Bureaucratic blunders are also driving up the cost of the program, totaling nearly $1 BILLION of ineligible payments going out every month. https://t.co/l2qpo6CT8Q

— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) September 26, 2023

Almost 80 percent of overpayments were due to errors made by the state agency.

The federal government did not even require states to report data on overpayments and errors in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic. The result of that mismanagement was that the overpayment rate exploded across the nation from 6.18 percent in 2018 to 9.84 percent in 2022.

New York’s overpayment rate jumped from 5.9 percent in 2019 to 10.35 percent in 2022.

Ernst’s proposed bill would force states to recover all overpayments and pay the federal government what it is due. It would further require that all SNAP payment errors be reported no matter what the amount is.

The senator even hinted at states pocketing some of the funds.

Seven states (Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin, Texas, Louisiana, Alaska, and Mississippi) have also “intentionally manipulated” the amount of SNAP payments given to residents to “collect $60 million in unearned performance bonuses,” Ernst said in a press release.

I’d like to know one government administered program that isn’t riddled with fraud and waste.

— Granny (@Granny83265751) September 27, 2023

“Families across the country are going hungry while bureaucrats are jumping the line to gobble up SNAP dollars, either as a meal ticket to beef up state budgets or a self-serve buffet of benefits for themselves or others who do not qualify,” Ernst told the New York Post in an interview.

“I’m snapping back! It’s time for states at fault to pay the piper and eat the costs of their taxpayer waste. Instead of over-serving bureaucrats, let’s end the waste and set a place at the table for hungry families,” she declared.

“Folks, you don’t get to make errors like this when you are calculating your taxes, so they shouldn’t be tolerated by those spending your taxes!” the Iowa Republican declared as she awarded the food stamp program with her monthly “Squeal Award” for wasteful spending according to The Washington Times.

Enst’s bill would force states to do a better job of weeding out ineligible families or to cover some of those costs themselves when it comes to food stamps.

Another employee responsible for determining #SNAP eligibility collected kickbacks issuing ineligible benefits, boasting, “I’ve been rocking this for years.” https://t.co/vnLkWbxATi

— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) September 26, 2023

The pandemic saw a giant jump in food stamp enrollment and spending.

“In 2022, there were more than 41 million Americans on food stamps, compared to about 35 million people in 2019,” the New York Post reported. “During the same four-year period, spending on food stamps grew to a record-high $119.5 billion, up from $60 billion in 2019.”

There were only 6 million additional enrollees, but food stamp spending almost doubled, according to the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA).

For a family of three in New York, monthly food stamp benefits pay a maximum of $740, $939 for a family of four, $1,116 for a family of five, and $1,339 for a family of six.

“Food stamp fraud costs taxpayers millions and diverts resources from the truly needy. Congress should pass basic program integrity measures to prevent fraud before it happens,” the FGA asserted.

Another employee of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services stole the identities of homeless people to register #SNAP cards he then used for his own personal shopping sprees. https://t.co/Lrp90vZION

— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) September 26, 2023

All kinds of people reportedly rip off the food stamp system in New York. Among those are government workers.

“An employee of the city’s Human Resources Administration was nabbed in 2017 for using inside knowledge to create fake accounts and stole more than $225,000 in food stamps and other benefits over seven years, the state inspector general reported,” the New York Post noted.

“Two city HRA workers were also busted in 2015 after exploiting flaws in the city’s welfare system to swipe $2.1 million worth of food stamps and rental subsidies — and then spent $120,000 on Red Bull, authorities at the time said,” the newspaper continued.

The Department of Agriculture admitted in June via a statement that states were not mandated to report on overpayments or error rates in the food stamp program in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic.

That’s why I’m giving my September 2023 #SquealAward to the bureaucrats dispersing billions of dollars in bogus benefits, either to themselves or others who don’t qualify.

I’m also working to require all errors be counted & direct states to stop handing out ineligible benefits.

— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) September 26, 2023

“USDA is committed to supporting states in improving payment accuracy in SNAP to ensure the program effectively and efficiently serves those who need it and promotes good stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” the agency claimed.

“We are doubling down to work with state partners to find ways to decrease payment errors and tackle the issues aggressively at their root cause. Together, we will continue to move toward a stronger, efficient, more modern future for SNAP and those it serves,” the Department of Agriculture vowed.

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