Blue states shouldn't resist fight against food-stamps fraud

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working to obtain records from every state about those receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. SNAP is the renamed food-stamps program. It helps those with lower incomes buy food. The average monthly benefit was $188 in fiscal 2024. That may not seem like a lot, but it adds up when around 12 percent of the population uses the program. In 2024, the federal government spent $100 billion on such assistance.

The USDA wants the information to identify and weed out fraud. That doesn't seem like a controversial request. While states run the program, the federal government funds it. States and the federal government each help pay for administrative costs.

If U.S. taxpayers are paying to ensure low-income families have food, they will certainly want to know that the money actually ends up accomplishing its purpose. As the “Feeding Our Future” scandal in Minnesota showed, there are criminals ready and willing to steal from poorly run welfare programs.

It's folly to assume fraudsters will out themselves. They have to be stopped. And when there are tens of millions of recipients, officials need data to do so. Twenty-eight states, including Nevada, have already given this data to the USDA, which originally requested the information last summer. Even that limited data has already helped uncover fraud. In November, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said her agency found benefits going to 186,000 dead people. Around 500,000 people were receiving SNAP benefits in more than one state.

But many blue states are refusing to turn over their information. More than 20 states sued the administration over a previous data request. They claim the government will use this information to bolster its efforts to deport illegal immigrants. Few things get Democratic politicians more excited than protecting those in the country illegally.

In response to state stonewalling, White House officials say they will withhold administrative funding from states that refuse to comply. That could cause some budget pain. In 2023, California received more than $1.2 billion from Washington for running SNAP. The funding cuts wouldn't happen immediately. More legal challenges are likely, too.

The federal government — and taxpayers — have an obvious interest in ensuring that welfare money ends up in the hands of those in need, not lining the pockets of fraudsters. Blue states should stop playing political games and work with the Trump administration to end food-stamp fraud.

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