Urge Congress to restore stolen SNAP benefits, address fraud

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
S. R. No. 29

2025-2026

Senator
Schaffer

Cosponsors:
Senators Blackshear, Smith, Craig

A
R E S O L U T I O N

To
urge Congress to resume restoring stolen SNAP benefits and implement
anti-fraud measures in the SNAP program.

BE
IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

WHEREAS,
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud costs the
State of Ohio millions of dollars each year; and

WHEREAS,
A common type of benefits theft is known as "skimming,"
where a fraudulent device is placed over a point-of-sale card reader
to identify and record payment card information; and

WHEREAS,
On January 17, 2025, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
issued a recommendation to Ohio citizens who receive SNAP benefits to
be alert for benefits theft, specifically in the form of card
skimming; and

WHEREAS,
Current SNAP benefits are accessed by households through electronic
benefit transfer (EBT) cards, which do not have a security chip to
prevent theft like card skimming; and

WHEREAS,
Congress previously has temporarily provided funding for states to
restore stolen SNAP benefits. In December 2022, Congress passed a law
to protect and replace SNAP benefits that were stolen through card
skimming, card cloning, and other similar methods, requiring states
to replace benefits stolen by those means between October 1, 2022,
and September 30, 2024; and

WHEREAS,
"The Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025,"
Pub. L. No. 118-83, extended the time period for the replacement of
those benefits to December 20, 2024; and

WHEREAS,
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, under those
federal acts, states replaced to more than 315,000 households over
$150 million in SNAP benefits stolen between January 2023 and
September 2024; and

WHEREAS,
According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the
State of Ohio replaced more than $12.6 million in stolen SNAP
benefits using federal money pursuant to those Acts; and

WHEREAS,
Congress has not enacted legislation to extend the requirement to
replace stolen benefits past December 20, 2024; now therefore be it

RESOLVED,
That we, the members of the Senate of the 136th General Assembly of
the State of Ohio, urge the Congress of the United States to resume
restoration of stolen SNAP EBT benefits and implement and fund
increases in anti-fraud measures under the SNAP program, such as
replacing current EBT cards with security chip cards; and be it
further

RESOLVED,
That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly authenticated copies of
this resolution to the President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the
United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States
House of Representatives, the members of the Ohio Congressional
delegation, and the news media of Ohio.