Many victims, whose SNAP payments were stolen, are still searching for answers and attempting to recover their money. Their frustration level is rising.
In recent months, a growing number of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, participants have been the target of criminals utilizing covert skimming devices.
Understanding SNAP Skimming
Who is responsible for the growth in SNAP skimming, and how exactly are the monies, which can only be used at specific stores, being spent?
The omnibus clause also directs the Agriculture Department to provide advice on SNAP skimming prevention and to gather information from the states to ascertain the extent of the issue.
The federal government’s suggested reimbursement solution in the omnibus, which lawmakers are rushing to enact in the upcoming days, pleased Betsy Gwin, a senior attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, a nonprofit center for poverty law and policy.
Read more: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) Benefits: How To Apply For Food Stamp Benefits?
Reinstating the Benefits of SNAP
But there are restrictions on the clause. Only those whose benefits were taken between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2024, would be covered.
And even if a household lost more than that, it would only permit the reinstatement of a maximum of two months’ worth of SNAP payments.
More than 41 million people across the United States participated in SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, in August, according to figures from the Agriculture Department.
65% of participants are from households with children, according to department data gathered prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite receiving federal funding, the program is managed by the states.
According to the American Public Human Services Association, which represents state and local human service agencies, only a small number of states, including California, Wisconsin, and Michigan, will use state funds to reinstate skimmed SNAP benefits, even if there is proof that EBT card data was used thousands of miles away.
In addition, Washington, D.C., compensates SNAP skimming victims.
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