Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Snap Ebt Security topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate highlights SNAP theft and funds EBT chip installation in supplemental budget
Summary
Senators described verified cases of SNAP benefit theft and discussed measures included in the supplemental budget to install chips on EBT cards and provide replacement funds for victims; the session noted $15.5 million set aside to add chip security to EBT cards.
Senator Edward J. Kennedy, senator from Worcester, raised concerns about theft of SNAP benefits and the effect on families, noting that thefts have left recipients without food. "Right now in Massachusetts, on a monthly basis, up to a million dollars in benefits are stolen from recipients of SNAP," Kennedy said, adding that "from January to March of this year alone, 7,800 families had their benefits stolen at no fault of their own and verified ... by DTA."
Senators continued the discussion of remedies in the supplemental budget. A senator who spoke in favor of recent budget language said, "thanks to the leadership of a lot of folks, including Commissioner McHugh, there is 15 and a half million dollars in this supplemental budget to be able to install chips on EBT cards so that the benefit cannot be stolen as easily." That speaker described the investment as prevention that should pay dividends by reducing the frequency of electronic theft and noted additional proposals to make victims whole when theft does occur.
Senators also described measures in the underlying bill that would allow unspent funds in a related account to reimburse families whose benefits were stolen, filling a gap left when federal replacement reimbursement became uncertain. Senator Kennedy and others urged further legislative work to speed access to replacement benefits, while acknowledging that specific amendment language on timing was withdrawn for later consideration.
As presented in the Senate, the supplemental budget includes a $15.5 million line aimed at EBT card chip installation and additional language to provide replacement benefits from state funds if federal reimbursements are insufficient. Several amendments related to SNAP trafficking and criminal penalties were debated and at least one amendment to add electronic-stealing provisions to trafficking statutes was adopted during the session.
