PAUL: Why Are So Many Americans On SNAP to Begin With?

As funding for federal food benefits is set to lapse, the senator is asking what is probably the most important question. #50

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As the government shutdown continues with no end in sight, funding for the federal SNAP food benefit program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is set to lapse on November 1.

This has left many who depend on the program worried.

But this moment has also been a reminder of how many people use food stamps, and to cause many to ask why so many do?

A question posed by Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday:

The Numbers and the Abuse

According to the Department of Agriculture, in 2024 an estimated 42 million Americans use SNAP each month.

In a country of 340 million, that’s a big chunk.

Whatever its benefits, it’s a program rife with abuse, selling benefits to retailers and individuals, reselling food, card skimming, phishing, falsifying eligibility, and various forms of both federal and state government fraud.

CATO’s Chris Edwards observed in 2023, “One chronic failing of SNAP is that billions of dollars are lost through fraud and abuse. Individuals, businesses, and organized gangs steal benefits. The switch from paper food stamps to electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards two decades ago created new avenues for abuse…”

Edwards continued, “SNAP spending is soaring, and fraud and abuse appear to be rising. Card-skimming has become a particularly severe problem. SNAP is difficult to police because it includes 250,000 retailers and 42 million recipients, who have changing income levels, jobs statuses, and other factors that affect eligibility and benefit levels.”

He added, “Because the federal government funds SNAP benefits, state administrators have little reason to minimize the fraud and abuse.”

In May, a major food stamp scheme got busted that cost taxpayers over $66 million: