Several senators raised pointed questions about the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), which oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and WIC, and how the reorganization would affect program integrity, error rates and state technical assistance.

Senators noted the scale of the programs—Vaden and senators referenced “over 40,000,000 SNAP recipients” in discussing program scale—and expressed concern that congressional action in other bills and staff losses have strained operations. Senator Klobuchar and others asked for data on staff losses by function, particularly for positions tied to financial management, program integrity and management review of nutrition programs.

Deputy Secretary Vaden told the committee the FNS headquarters and regional offices are included in the secretary’s memorandum but that “every agency and every mission area under the Secretary's plan will have representation and officials in Washington, D.C.” He said the SNAP program is primarily administered by states and argued it makes sense to move employees who oversee states into the states they supervise.

Committee requests and risks: senators requested breakdowns of FNS staffing losses and vacancy rates, an analysis of how moving oversight staff affects the department’s ability to detect and prevent improper payments, and the department’s program integrity plans for implementing statutory SNAP changes already enacted by Congress. Vaden said the department would provide additional numbers and work with the committee on the rollout.

Ending: Senators emphasized the need for department assurances that nutrition assistance delivery and integrity controls would not be compromised during reorganization and asked for written analyses and timelines.