H.R. 3887

119 HR 3887 IH: SNAP Anti-Theft and Victim Compensation Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-06-10
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 3887  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   June 10, 2025   Mr. Nunn of Iowa  introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Agriculture    A BILL
To amend of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 relating to punishment and compensation for the theft of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits; and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   SNAP Anti-Theft and Victim Compensation Act of 2025  .
2.
Expanded investigative authority of the Department of Agriculture Inspector General
Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2025 ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(i)
Office of Inspector General coordination authority
(1)
The Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture shall have full authority to investigate and coordinate multi-jurisdictional efforts to prevent, detect, and prosecute theft, misuse, or fraudulent accessing of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits, including—
(A)
investigation of cyber-enabled benefit theft, including skimming, cloning, phishing, spoofing, and unauthorized access to EBT systems; Issuing subpoenas, executing warrants, and initiating civil or criminal referrals;
(B)
issuance of subpoenas, executing warrants, and initiating civil or criminal referrals;
(C)
coordination with the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service, State and local law enforcement, and financial institutions;
(D)
requesting and receiving data from State EBT processors and contracted vendors for investigative purposes; and
(E)
participation in interagency cyber task forces or fraud detection initiatives.
(2)
The Secretary of Agriculture may issue rules, and allocate funds, necessary to support the activities of the Inspector General under this subsection.
 .
3.
Authority to reimburse stolen SNAP benefits
Section 11 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2020 ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(y)
Reimbursement for stolen benefits
.
(1)
States are authorized to use supplemental nutrition assistance program benefit funds to reimburse households whose benefits are stolen due to no fault of their own, including via skimming, cloning, or other unauthorized electronic transfers.
(2)
Reimbursement shall be made in accordance with guidance from the Secretary and shall not affect the household’s monthly allotment or ongoing eligibility.
(3)
The Secretary shall—
(A)
provide technical assistance to States for fraud detection and claims validation;
(B)
maintain a centralized reporting database for benefit theft incidents;
(C)
require States to submit annual data on benefit theft and reimbursements.
(4)
The Secretary shall promulgate regulations as necessary to carry out this subsection.
(5)
The Secretary shall review the necessity of this authority once all States have successfully upgraded to secure payment technologies.
 .
4.
. Civil penalty for theft of SNAP benefits
Section 15 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2024 ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(g)
Civil penalty for theft of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits
.
(1)
Any person who knowingly accesses, uses, or transfers supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits issued to household without authorization shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty in an amount equal to twice the value of the benefits stolen.
(2)
The Secretary may assess and enforce this penalty through an administrative proceeding under section 14 or through a civil action in a district court of the United States.
(3)
Funds recovered under this subsection shall be used, as determined by the Secretary, to offset the cost of reimbursing victims of benefit theft and the cost of the enhanced investigatory authority of the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture.
(4)
A civil penalty imposed under this subsection shall be in addition to any other civil or criminal penalty imposed under any other provision of this Act or under any other provision of law.
 .