June 18, 2026
Ms. Meng (for herself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide for the reissuance to households of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits to replace benefits stolen by identity theft or typical skimming practices, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Ending Stolen SNAP Benefits Act of
2026
.
Sec. 2. Amendments
Section 7 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2016) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (e) by inserting or from the reissuance of benefits stolen by identity theft or typical skimming practices
after mail
; and
(2)
in subsection (h)(7)—
(A)
by striking Regulations
and inserting the following:
(A) Reissuance of benefits
Regulations; and
(B)
by adding at end the following:
(B) Reissuance of stolen benefits
(i) Issuance of regulations
The Secretary shall issue regulations, consistent with the procedures determined by the Secretary under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 501(b)(1) of division HH of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117–328; 7 U.S.C. 2016a(b)(1)), without regard to the limitations in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 501(b)(2) of such Act—
(I)
to establish criteria and best practices for State agencies to identify supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits stolen by identity theft or typical skimming practices in a way that minimizes the burden of victim households to establish the theft;
(II)
to provide for the reissuance to households of benefits stolen by identity theft, or typical skimming practices, that meet such criteria; and
(III)
to permit State agencies to reissue stolen benefits to the same household, provided the Secretary has approved a State agency’s transition plan in accordance with section 16(l)(2).
(ii) Status report
Not later than 240 days after the Secretary issues regulations under clause (i), the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report on the status of benefits reissued under such regulations that includes—
(I)
a detailed description of the prevalence of stolen benefits for which benefits are reissued under such regulations;
(II)
an examination of current barriers, feasibility, and impact on participant access and ease of use in developing an electronic benefit transfer card that contains technologies such as an embedded microchip in common use in the financial services industry along with the traditional magnetic stripe; and
(III)
such other information as by the Secretary considers to be appropriate.
(iii) Stolen benefit reissuance report
Not later than 120 days after end of each fiscal year that begins after the Secretary issues regulations under clause (i), the Secretary shall submit to the Congress, and make available to the public, a report for such fiscal year with respect to each State that includes the aggregate value of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits reissued under such regulations and the number of households to which such benefits were reissued.
(iv) Evaluation
To maximize the accessibility and security of electronic benefit transfer cards, the Secretary shall periodically review and modify such regulations to take into account evolving technology and the threat landscape to better protect against benefit theft.
Sec. 3. Cost sharing for transitioning to chip-enabled EBT cards
Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a), by striking subsection (k),
and inserting subsection (k), except as provided in subsection (l),
; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(l) Administrative cost-Sharing for transitioning to chip-Enabled EBT cards
(1) In general
On approval of a plan submitted by a State agency under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall pay to such State agency an amount equal to 90 percent of all administrative costs incurred by the State agency in carrying out a transition from magnetic-stripe EBT cards to EBT cards with chip technology that complies with the American National Standards Institute X9.58–2024 EBT standard, or its succeeding standard, including costs associated with—
(A)
card issuance strategies;
(B)
one-time up-front costs paid by the State to card vendors;
(C)
business and functional design requirements;
(D)
implementation planning;
(E)
system testing;
(F)
education and outreach in language accessible by all households, including informational activities under subsection (a)(4); and
(G)
any other administrative fees reasonably necessary for the successful implementation of chip cards.
(2) Approval of transition plans
(A) Submission
A State agency shall submit to the Secretary for approval a plan that carries out paragraph (1), including system testing, retailer and household education, and outreach efforts. State plans must include steps to ensure that recipients will retain access to their benefits without interruption during the transition.
(B) Secretarial action
Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary receives a complete plan under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall—
(i)
approve the plan;
(ii)
approve the plan with conditions; or
(iii)
disapprove the plan and provide the State agency with a written explanation of the reasons for such disapproval.
(C) Deemed approval
If the Secretary fails to take action within the 90-day period described in subparagraph (B), the plan shall be deemed approved.
(3) Sunset
This subsection shall sunset on September 30, 2031.