BALTIMORE — There may soon be relief for victims whose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as food stamps, are stolen by thieves.
WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii has reported extensively on this issue.
RELATED: Robbed of assistance: Victims of benefit fraud desperate for help as theft soars
Thieves are swiping SNAP and cash assistance before cardholders have a chance to withdraw their money. When victims report this theft to the Maryland Department of Human Services, they're told their benefits will not be replaced.
So far this year, Maryland families have reported losing more than $1 million in SNAP and cash assistance benefits to thieves. In 2021, reported losses were around $92,000.
Maryland Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger took notice of Sofastaii's reporting and introduced a bill on Wednesday that would require the federal government to replace SNAP benefits stolen by identity theft or skimming practices.
"We looked into it because of you," Congressman Ruppersberger told Sofastaii in an exclusive interview. "The media helped us out and you raise a good issue. And what’s unique about it is, number one, it’s not going to cost us any money because we’re going to put enough money in for each state, extra money that can be used to help people. Secondly, just the last week or so, we’ve received two calls from my constituents that have said they went to their accounts and the money was gone. They tried to go to the state, other areas, they said, look, you have to go to the feds. Well, we got it, we researched it and we thought we found a way to very quickly put in a bill.”
H.R. 9319, or the SNAP Theft Protection Act of 2022, amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. Current law states that federal funds cannot be used to reimburse SNAP benefits in the event of theft, however, states could choose to replace these benefits with local funds. Right now, only California and D.C. are replacing these benefits for theft victims.
While the bill does not include replacement of Temporary Cash Assistance benefits, Ruppersberger's staff said they're exploring other legislation to assist these victims.
The legislation is not retroactive, however, the Maryland General Assembly is currently exploring options to assist fraud victims.
Congressman Ruppersberger said he's hopeful the legislation will be approved by the House of Representatives before the end of the year.
The SNAP Theft Protection Act also directs the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to establish criteria for state agencies to determine if SNAP benefits were stolen, and if so, how the theft occurred. It also requires the Secretary to periodically evaluate the accessibility and security of EBT cards and provide a yearly report to Congress with the amount of SNAP benefits reissued.
