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1 [1] (Updated April 7, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/smlntnas0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the legislative debate since 1914 0 Updated April 7, 2025 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Errors and Fraud The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation's largest domestic food assistance program, serving 41.7 million individuals in an average month in FY2024 at a federal cost over $100 billion. SNAP benefits may be used to buy eligible food at over 261,000 authorized stores. Monthly benefit amounts vary based on household size and financial circumstances, and benefits are issued on Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards. SNAP is jointly administered by state agencies, which handle recipient functions, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (USDA, FNS), which supports and oversees the states and handles retailer functions. Policymakers have long been interested in measuring and reducing errors and fraud in SNAP. Types of SNAP Error and Fraud Error and fraud can be organized into four main types: 1. Trafficking SNAP benefits-the illicit sale of SNAP benefits, which can involve both retailers and recipients (a type of fraud). 2. SNAP retailer applicationfraud-an ineligible store or owner's illicit attempt to become authorized to accept SNAP. 3. Errors and fraud by households applying for SNAP-unintentional or intentional recipient actions resulting in incorrect SNAP amounts. 4. Errors and fraud by SNAP state agencies- unintentional or intentional state agency actions resulting in incorrect SNAP amounts. 5. SNAP Scams-fraud perpetrated by external actors against SNAP recipients resulting in the theft of federal assistance. Defining Terms: Errors vs. Fraud Errors are not the same as fraud. Fraud is intentional activity that breaks federal and/or state laws, while errors are mistakes. Certain acts, such as trafficking, are always considered fraud, but other acts, such as duplicate enrollment, may be either errors or fraud depending on the circumstances of the case. SNAP fraud is rare, according to available data and reports, but there is no single data point that reflects all the forms of fraud in SNAP. Criminal prosecution of fraud, when pursued, is typically initiated by USDA Office of the Inspector General (USDA, OIG) or state law enforcement authorities. Measures of Errors and Fraud in SNAP There are two main measures of error and fraud in SNAP. The National Payment Error Rate (NPER) Based on annual SNAP Quality Control reviews (7 U.S.C. §2025(c)), the NPER measures states' improper issuance of SNAP benefits, including from recipient fraud, recipient errors, and state agency errors. This rate reflects all overpayments and underpayments that exceed the error tolerance threshold ($57 in FY2025, per month in the sample month counted; threshold is inflation-adjusted annually per statute). This rate is not a measure of fraud. See Table 1 for recent rates and amounts. Laws enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic provided Quality Control (QC) data collection and reporting flexibilities; FNS determined that it could not establish National Payment Error Rates (NPER) and State Payment Error Rates (SPER) for FY2020 and FY2021. Pandemic changes to eligibility and reporting, the return to pre-pandemic rules, and understaffing likely contributed to the substantial increase to error rates after FY2021. When error rates were released in 2023, majority and minority leaders of SNAP's congressional committees of jurisdiction issued a joint statement critical of the increases. USDA places states with high payment error rates under corrective action plans and may levy financial penalties fines to states with repeated high error rates, according to SNAP law. Table 1. Estimated SNAP Payment Error Rates and Dollar Amounts: FY20 18, FY20 19, FY2022, FY2023 Estimated overpayment and underpayment amounts in billions FY2018 FY2019 FY2022 FY2023 Overpay Rate 5.59% 6.18% 9.84% 10.03% Overpay $3.40 $3.43 $11.22 $10.74 Amount Underpay Rate 1.22% 1.18% 1.70% 1.64% Underpay $0.74 $0.66 $1.94 $0.71 Amount NPER 6.80% 7.36% 11.54% 11.68% Source: FNS, SNAP Payment Error Rates. Notes: NPER is the sum of rates, with small variations at times due to rounding. Rates compare overpayment/underpayment amounts to total SNAP benefits issued. USDA did not issue error rates FY2020- FY2021. Amount figures are higher in the FY2022-2023 period due to overall growth in costs. The National Retailer Trafficking Rate Trafficking is not included in the NPER. Roughly every three years, the retailer trafficking rate estimates the volume of benefits trafficked. The retailer trafficking rate reflects a major form of SNAP fraud, but it does not reflect all forms of fraud. See Table 2 for recent rates and amounts. Table 2. Estimated National Retailer Trafficking Rates and Dollar Amounts: FY2012-FY2014, FY2015-2017 Estimated trafficked amounts in billions FY2012-FY2014 FY20I5-FY2017 Trafficking Rate 1.50% 1.60% Trafficking Amount $1.08 $1.27 https://crsreport

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