Bill Details
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This bill would change how mistakes in SNAP benefit payments are counted and how states are held responsible for them. Starting in fiscal year 2025, it would make very small errors count in the payment-error calculation, require states to try to recover overpaid benefits, and reduce a state’s penalty if it successfully gets some of that money back. The goal is to lower taxpayer costs caused by SNAP payment errors.
- It removes the current small-error allowance for future years, so even tiny payment mistakes would count in the error rate starting in fiscal year 2025.
- It would require state SNAP agencies to seek repayment when benefits are overpaid to recipients.
- It changes the way a state’s penalty is figured out by tying part of the calculation to how much of the overpaid money was not recovered.
- It also makes other related changes to the error-rate and liability rules used by the federal government when reviewing state SNAP performance.
Official Summaries
Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act
This bill requires states to recoup any overpayments of benefits made to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients and adjusts the formula for determining a state's liability rate for overpayments.
As background, the SNAP quality control system measures how accurately SNAP state agencies determine a household’s eligibility and benefit amount and determines overpayments of benefits and underpayments. States that have comparatively high payment error rates for two consecutive years are assessed a penalty (i.e., liability amount). The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) must use a statutory formula to determine the liability amount.
Under current law, FNS must set a tolerance level for excluding small payment errors in the calculation of payment error rates (e.g., $56 or less in FY2024). This bill reduces the tolerance level for excluding small errors to $0 for FY2025 and each succeeding fiscal year.
The bill also requires state agencies to recoup any overpayments of benefits made to SNAP beneficiaries.
The bill adjusts the liability rate formula to reduce the state payment error rate based on the percentage of overpayments recouped by the state. Further, the bill increases the multiplier used in the liability rate formula to 25% (from 10%).
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 302 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 302
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to improve the calculation
and reduce the taxpayer cost of payment errors under the supplemental
nutrition assistance program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 29, 2025
Ms. Ernst (for herself, Mrs. Britt, and Mr. Grassley) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to improve the calculation
and reduce the taxpayer cost of payment errors under the supplemental
nutrition assistance program, 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 Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments
Act''.
SEC. 2. QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEM TOLERANCE LEVEL FOR EXCLUDING SMALL
ERRORS.
Section 16(c) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2025(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)(ii)--
(i) in subclause (I), by striking ``and''
at the end;
(ii) in subclause (II)--
(I) by inserting ``through fiscal
year 2024'' after ``thereafter''; and
(II) by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(III) for fiscal year 2025 and
each fiscal year thereafter, $0.'';
(B) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by
striking ``may'' and inserting ``shall'';
(ii) in clause (ii)(I), by inserting ``, as
adjusted under subparagraph (H), if
applicable'' after ``agency''; and
(iii) in clause (iii), by striking ``10''
and inserting ``25''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(H) Reduction of payment error rate based on
percentage of overpayments recouped.--In determining
the liability amount of a State agency under
subparagraph (C) for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal
year thereafter, the payment error rate described in
clause (ii)(I) of that subparagraph shall be equal to
the product obtained by multiplying--
``(i) the payment error rate of the State
agency for that fiscal year; and
``(ii) the percentage of the total amount
of overpayments of benefits made by the State
agency that are not recouped by the State
agency under paragraph (9) for that fiscal
year.'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
``(9) Recoupment of overpayments.--Each State agency shall
seek to recoup any overpayments of benefits made to benefit
recipients.''.
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