The SNAP Fraud Reporting Act, introduced on March 19 by Representative Dave Taylor of Ohio, now counts 12 Republican cosponsors after Representatives Mike Collins of Georgia and Keith Self of Texas joined the effort on March 24. The bill would compel states to submit comprehensive fraud data to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with noncompliant states risking the loss of administrative funding. It has been referred to the House Committee on Agriculture, where it remains in the early stages of review.
A System Rife With Gaps
According to Taylor’s office, the legislation responds to what supporters describe as a troubling pattern of state-level non-compliance. A February 2025 directive from USDA Secretary Rollins had already instructed states to voluntarily share SNAP fraud data, yet nearly a year later, 21 states had still not done so. Among the findings from states that did comply: roughly 200,000 individuals using Social Security numbers associated with deceased people were receiving SNAP benefits.
Under the proposed law, states would have 180 days from enactment to submit fraud data covering the five most recently concluded fiscal years. That data would need to include the total number of fraud cases, dollar amounts involved, enforcement actions taken, recoveries made, and cases involving deceased or falsified identities. The USDA would then be required to compile a report for Congress within the same timeframe, with annual updates to follow.
Taylor framed the bill in direct terms: “Hardworking Ohio families deserve to access the benefits they’ve earned during times of need, not have them siphoned away by fraudsters using deceased individuals’ Social Security numbers.”
Lawmakers Make the Case for Transparency
While SNAP is fully funded by the federal government, the program is administered at the state and county level, an arrangement that gives states broad discretion over eligibility and enforcement, and one that critics say has made uniform oversight difficult to achieve.
Several cosponsors have been vocal about the bill’s intent. According to Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina, “States refusing to comply risk losing their administrative funding. No more excuses.” Representative Russell Fry, also of South Carolina, struck a more measured tone, arguing that “every instance of fraud and overpayment in SNAP is money taken away from vulnerable Americans who depend on the program.”
Representative Tony Wied of Wisconsin specifically called out his home state’s governor, claiming that officials there had chosen to withhold SNAP data from public view, an example, he suggested, of the opacity the legislation aims to dismantle. The bill’s path forward will unfold against a broader congressional backdrop of debates over federal spending and the future of social safety net programs. Whether it advances through committee will likely depend on how those larger tensions are resolved in the months ahead.
