The Trump administration says SNAP is rife with fraud and waste. Is it?

The Trump medication says the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, besides known arsenic nutrient stamps, is losing billions of dollars due to the fact that of outgo errors it characterizes arsenic fraud, discarded and abuse. But anti-hunger advocates accidental that statement is misleading, and could endanger nutrient assistance for millions of low-income families.

The Department of Agriculture connected June 24 said that the food-stamp program's outgo mistake complaint was 10.6% for fiscal twelvemonth 2025 — astir treble the 6% threshold established arsenic acceptable nether the Republicans' 2025 "big, beauteous measure act" (OBBBA). The mistake complaint past twelvemonth amounts to much than $10 cardinal successful improper SNAP payments crossed the U.S., the bureau said. 

SNAP provided $95.7 cardinal successful benefits to American families during fiscal twelvemonth 2025, meaning that outgo errors accounted for astir one-tenth of the program's spending.

Fraud oregon a mistake?

Conflicting views connected the prevalence of fraud successful nutrient stamps centers connected what the SNAP outgo mistake complaint really measures. Payment errors hap whenever households person excessively overmuch oregon excessively small successful benefits, careless of whether anyone intentionally broke the rules, and experts accidental specified over- and under-payments are usually unintentional.

Fraud, by contrast, mostly involves deliberate deception, specified arsenic trafficking benefits for currency oregon utilizing stolen EBT paper information.

The Trump medication has cited the outgo mistake complaint arsenic grounds of discarded successful the program. The metric does not seizure galore of the astir communal forms of SNAP fraud, specified arsenic EBT paper skimming oregon recipients illegally selling benefits for cash, according to the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), which represents authorities and section quality services agencies.

A 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office recovered that SNAP outgo errors thin to stem from over- oregon under-payment issues, portion describing food-stamp fraud arsenic a separate, if related, issue. 

Payment errors are "mostly unintentional due to the fact that the argumentation is precise complex, and determination are a batch of reporting requirements" that households whitethorn not beryllium alert of, Brian Jones, a SNAP prime power adept astatine APHSA, told CBS News.

Republicans reason that reducing some outgo errors and fraud would prevention payer dollars and assistance guarantee benefits spell lone to eligible recipients.

"Every dollar successful this programme is intended to assistance provender eligible individuals successful need," said Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, successful a June 25 House subcommittee hearing on "Combating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse successful SNAP. "That's not wherever each dollar goes, not by a agelong shot."

Anti-hunger advocates accidental that portion focusing connected fraud is important, erroneous food-stamp payments mostly bespeak changes successful recipients' idiosyncratic and fiscal circumstances, specified arsenic getting oregon losing a job. Mistakes tin besides effect from paperwork problems, specified arsenic missing addresses oregon telephone numbers. 

"We should not confuse outgo errors with fraud," Gina Plata-Nino, SNAP manager for the anti-hunger advocacy radical Food Research & Action Center, oregon FRAC, said astatine the aforesaid hearing. "Fraud involves intentional wrongdoing — outgo errors often impact analyzable rules, changing enactment hours, missing paperwork, outdated systems oregon bureau mistakes."

Recouping overpayments

Under national law, SNAP recipients indispensable repay overpayments, with states typically reducing the monthly outgo until the wealth is recouped.

"State and counties, those administering the program, should strive to person arsenic debased an mistake complaint arsenic imaginable due to the fact that it is an indicator of beardown medication of the program," said Alexis Kuznick, argumentation manager for APHSA. "States are moving truly hard to get their mistake rates overmuch lower."

To beryllium sure, existent SNAP fraud is costly. The GAO pointed to earlier information showing the programme mislaid astir $1 cardinal a twelvemonth to fraud. 

A USDA report published successful May flagged different imaginable fraudulent activity, including recipients with dummy Social Security numbers and duplicate enrollments, that could adhd up to astir $3 cardinal successful yearly improper payments. However, the study described the findings arsenic imaginable issues alternatively than confirmed fraud.

Ironically, states are "having to instrumentality folks disconnected of their enactment connected reducing, preventing oregon responding to fraud and determination them implicit to the prime power side" to absorption connected reducing outgo mistake rates due to the fact that of the OBBBA's requirements, Kuznick said.

Potential deed to authorities budgets

Under the OBBBA, the program's outgo mistake complaint has go progressively cardinal to SNAP, a federally funded programme administered by the U.S. states. 

The caller instrumentality mandates that states' SNAP programs should support outgo mistake rates beneath 6%. Those states whose food-stamp programs transcend that threshold volition beryllium connected the hook for shouldering much of the program's costs starting successful October 2027.

According to the USDA's study past week, lone 10 states person SNAP outgo mistake rates beneath 6%, with South Dakota astatine the lowest, astatine 2.5%. Alaska has the highest outgo mistake rate, astatine 23%, the information shows.

Under the OBBBA, states with SNAP outgo mistake rates betwixt 6% and 8% volition person to wage 5% of the payment costs starting successful precocious 2027. Those with mistake rates of 8% to 10% volition person to prime up 10% of the payment costs. And those with mistake rates implicit 10% volition person to wage 15% of the costs.

In total, states could beryllium connected the hook for an further $9 cardinal successful SNAP spending, based connected the astir caller outgo mistake rates released by the USDA, according to a new estimate from the Center connected Budget and Policy Priorities, oregon CBPP.

"States person ne'er earlier had to enactment up a stock of the payment costs, and based connected the 2025 data, astir fractional the states are facing a cost-sharing request that's going to outgo them $100 cardinal oregon much successful the archetypal twelvemonth of implementation," Katie Bergh, a SNAP adept astatine CBPP, told CBS News.

That could effect successful states having to either rise taxes oregon chopped spending elsewhere successful their budgets, she said. 

"We whitethorn adjacent spot immoderate states retreat from the programme entirely," Bergh added, citing an APHSA survey of each 50 authorities SNAP agencies that recovered 11% identified withdrawing from the nutrient assistance programme arsenic a imaginable hazard owed to higher expected costs.

States with SNAP outgo mistake rates supra 6% volition person different twelvemonth to trim their errors and alteration the deed to their budgets. But states that aren't capable to thrust down their mistake rates volition apt request to marque choices that could interaction their residents, specified arsenic choosing betwixt backing nationalist services similar instrumentality enforcement and acquisition versus providing nutrient aid.

Enrollment decline

The fiscal unit comes arsenic U.S. SNAP enrollment has already fallen sharply since President Trump signed the OBBBA into instrumentality connected July 4, 2025.

About 37 cardinal radical were enrolled successful SNAP arsenic of March, the astir caller information available, according to USDA figures. That represents a diminution of astir 5 cardinal radical from a twelvemonth earlier. 

The crisp driblet successful SNAP enrollees is owed to caller changes to the programme nether the OBBBA, including a new enactment requirement for "able-bodied adults" aged 64 oregon younger, whereas the erstwhile regularisation lone applied to radical 54 oregon younger. The caller regularisation restricts SNAP benefits to 3 months of assistance each 3 years if radical nether 64 don't work, unpaid oregon enactment successful occupation grooming astatine slightest 80 hours a month. 

Some advocates, including the National Governors Association, a bipartisan radical that represents the nation's governors, arsenic good arsenic APHSA, are present lobbying lawmakers to hold the revised authorities cost-sharing rules by 2 years. 

"We person been moving hard to amended and pass leaders astir what the impacts volition beryllium to states," and to inquire for further clip to instrumentality changes, said Timothy Blute, main argumentation serviceman astatine the National Governors Association. "Governors and states attraction profoundly astir programme integrity and are moving tirelessly to little their mistake rates."

Without clip to hole the outgo errors, galore states are apt to look hard decisions erstwhile the cost-sharing provisions footwear in, Kuznick said.

"If an idiosyncratic authorities can't wage its share, what happens then? Those are the sorts of things that we person not encountered yet," she said. "We cognize however captious nutrient information is to people's livelihoods and their quality to absorption successful school. You could spot a wide interaction successful presumption of wellness outcomes overall."

Edited by Alain Sherter

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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