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State describes rise in EBT thefts, outlines chip-card plan and short-term limits on replacements
Summary
At a House Appropriations Committee budget hearing on March 12, 2025, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said the department approved $8,872,130 in replacement SNAP benefits stolen from cardholders between Oct. 1, 2022, and Dec. 2024 and warned a December 2024 federal continuing resolution stops federally funded replacements going forward.
At a House Appropriations Committee budget hearing on March 12, 2025, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said the department approved $8,872,130 in replacement SNAP benefits stolen from cardholders between Oct. 1, 2022, and Dec. 2024. She told the committee that a December 20, 2024, federal continuing resolution prevents the federal government from replacing stolen SNAP funds going forward, shifting the consequences to benefit recipients.
Why it matters: SNAP is federal money that delivers $367,000,000 in federal benefits into Pennsylvania each month, Arkoosh said, supporting roughly 2,000,000 people across the Commonwealth. Committee members pressed DHS on how recipients report theft and…
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