[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3887 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3887
To amend of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 relating to punishment
and compensation for the theft of supplemental nutrition assistance
program benefits; and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 10, 2025
Mr. Nunn of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 relating to punishment
and compensation for the theft of supplemental nutrition assistance
program benefits; and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``SNAP Anti-Theft and Victim
Compensation Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. EXPANDED INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE INSPECTOR GENERAL.
Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(i) Office of Inspector General Coordination Authority.--
``(1) The Inspector General of the Department of
Agriculture shall have full authority to investigate and
coordinate multi-jurisdictional efforts to prevent, detect, and
prosecute theft, misuse, or fraudulent accessing of
supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits, including--
``(A) investigation of cyber-enabled benefit theft,
including skimming, cloning, phishing, spoofing, and
unauthorized access to EBT systems; Issuing subpoenas,
executing warrants, and initiating civil or criminal
referrals;
``(B) issuance of subpoenas, executing warrants,
and initiating civil or criminal referrals;
``(C) coordination with the Department of Justice,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of
Homeland Security, the Secret Service, State and local
law enforcement, and financial institutions;
``(D) requesting and receiving data from State EBT
processors and contracted vendors for investigative
purposes; and
``(E) participation in interagency cyber task
forces or fraud detection initiatives.
``(2) The Secretary of Agriculture may issue rules, and
allocate funds, necessary to support the activities of the
Inspector General under this subsection.''.
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO REIMBURSE STOLEN SNAP BENEFITS.
Section 11 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(y) Reimbursement for Stolen Benefits.--.
``(1) States are authorized to use supplemental nutrition
assistance program benefit funds to reimburse households whose
benefits are stolen due to no fault of their own, including via
skimming, cloning, or other unauthorized electronic transfers.
``(2) Reimbursement shall be made in accordance with
guidance from the Secretary and shall not affect the
household's monthly allotment or ongoing eligibility.
``(3) The Secretary shall--
``(A) provide technical assistance to States for
fraud detection and claims validation;
``(B) maintain a centralized reporting database for
benefit theft incidents;
``(C) require States to submit annual data on
benefit theft and reimbursements.
``(4) The Secretary shall promulgate regulations as
necessary to carry out this subsection.
``(5) The Secretary shall review the necessity of this
authority once all States have successfully upgraded to secure
payment technologies.''.
SEC. 4. . CIVIL PENALTY FOR THEFT OF SNAP BENEFITS.
Section 15 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2024) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Civil Penalty for Theft of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program Benefits.--.
``(1) Any person who knowingly accesses, uses, or transfers
supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits issued to
household without authorization shall be liable to the United
States for a civil penalty in an amount equal to twice the
value of the benefits stolen.
``(2) The Secretary may assess and enforce this penalty
through an administrative proceeding under section 14 or
through a civil action in a district court of the United
States.
``(3) Funds recovered under this subsection shall be used,
as determined by the Secretary, to offset the cost of
reimbursing victims of benefit theft and the cost of the
enhanced investigatory authority of the Inspector General of
the Department of Agriculture.
``(4) A civil penalty imposed under this subsection shall
be in addition to any other civil or criminal penalty imposed
under any other provision of this Act or under any other
provision of law.''.
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