Bill Text: NJ ACR123 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges United States President, Congress, and USDA to take steps to protect SNAP beneficiaries from fraud.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-22 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee [ACR123 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-ACR123-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 123
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 22, 2024
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROY FREIMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblywoman MITCHELLE DRULIS
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Urges United States President, Congress, and USDA to take steps to protect SNAP beneficiaries from fraud.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution urging the United States President, Congress, and USDA to take steps to protect SNAP beneficiaries from fraud.
Whereas, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides assistance to supplement the food budget of low-income families nationwide; and
Whereas, SNAP is regulated at the federal level by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) pursuant to the "Food and Nutrition Act of 2009," Pub.L.110-246 (7 U.S.C. s.2011 et seq.), and administered at the State level by the Division of Family Development, within the Department of Human Services, in conjunction with the county welfare agencies. While the federal government pays 100 percent of SNAP benefits, the administrative costs of the program are split between the federal government and the states; and
Whereas, The federal government mandates that states deliver SNAP benefits via Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards that operate much like debit cards and can be used in most grocery stores to purchase food; and
Whereas, Fraud of SNAP benefits has risen to an alarming level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the most frequent culprit of lost benefits related to "skimming" devices. Skimming occurs when devices are illegally installed on point-of-sale terminals to capture a cardholder's personal identification number and other data stored on the magnetic strip of the EBT card. Criminals use the data to duplicate the EBT card and access the victim's SNAP benefits; and
Whereas, Debit and pre-paid cards may also be skimmed but the holders of these cards are protected from the loss of stolen funds by the federal "Electronic Funds Transfer Act," 15 U.S.C.1693. The federal law, however, expressly excludes EBT cardholders from its protection, leaving EBT cardholders without the recourse available to other consumers when their card benefits are stolen; and
Whereas, In December 2022, Congress addressed the growing concern of stolen SNAP benefits in the passage of the "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023," Pub.L.117-328, which allows state agencies to temporarily use federal funds to replace SNAP benefits lost to skimming and other forms of fraud between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2024; and
Whereas, While these federal efforts to protect SNAP beneficiaries from the consequences of fraud are a positive step in the right direction, the New Jersey State Legislature encourages its federal partners to take additional actions to more aggressively safeguard this vulnerable community; and
Whereas, For example, the USDA should permit states to use federal funds to replace lost SNAP benefits retroactively to October 2021 when the surge in skimming began, instead of only to October 2022. Moreover, moving forward, the authority to replace SNAP benefits with federal funds should be permanent; instead of expiring in September 2024; and
Whereas, The USDA should also update federal regulations to require states to implement more secure systems regarding SNAP EBT cards. For example, many credit and debit cards now use EMV chips, industry-standard security technology that make it much harder for criminals to skim payment cards. Unlike a payment card with only a magnetic strip, the information on a payment card with an EMV chip is encrypted. Currently, all state issued SNAP EBT cards use magnetic strips only, making SNAP benefits particularly vulnerable to fraud; and
Whereas, Finally, support for these initiatives should include the distribution of federal funding to help states issue SNAP EBT cards with EMV chips and to phase out SNAP EBT cards with magnetic strips; and
Whereas, It is imperative for the federal government to address SNAP benefit fraud as comprehensively as possible, and to make all necessary changes to SNAP policy to ensure that low-income households do not go hungry due to the theft of their SNAP benefits; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. The Legislature of this State urges the President of the United States, the United States Congress, and the United States Department of Agriculture to take all steps necessary to promptly find a comprehensive resolution to the rising levels of SNAP benefit fraud occurring throughout the country, including such actions as authorizing the permanent replacement of stolen SNAP benefits with federal funds, retroactive to October 2021, and the provision of regulations and funds to support more secure card payment systems for SNAP benefits.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, every member of Congress elected from this State, and the United States Secretary of Agriculture.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the President of the United States, the United States Congress, and the United States Department of Agriculture to take all steps necessary to promptly find a comprehensive resolution to the rising levels of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit fraud occurring throughout the country. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides assistance to supplement the food budget of low-income families nationwide. The program is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by the Division of Family Development, within the Department of Human Services, in conjunction with the county welfare agencies.
Fraud of SNAP benefits has risen to an alarming level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the most frequent culprit of lost benefits related to "skimming" devices. Skimming occurs when devices are illegally installed on point-of-sale terminals to capture a cardholder's personal identification number and other data stored on the magnetic strip of the EBT card. Criminals use the data to duplicate the EBT card and access the victim's SNAP benefits. In December 2022, Congress addressed the growing concern of stolen SNAP benefits in the passage of the "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023," which allows state agencies to temporarily use federal funds to replace SNAP benefits lost to skimming and other forms of fraud between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2024.
While these federal efforts to protect SNAP beneficiaries from the consequences of skimming are a positive step in the right direction, the New Jersey State Legislature encourages its federal partners to take additional actions to more aggressively safeguard this vulnerable community; including authorizing the permanent replacement of stolen SNAP benefits with federal funds, retroactive to October 2021, and the provision of regulations and funds to support more secure card payment systems for SNAP benefits.
