Four Ways the Food Stamps Program Could Be Improved

The Farm Bill is under consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives right now, and that means there is an opportunity for Congress to take a hard look at food-related policies, including the future of the food stamps program. 

Food stamps are a vital supplemental resource for many Americans and their families, and it’s a resource that must be protected for the truly needy. The best way to ensure that stability and availability is by cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse that jeopardizes its future. 

Here are four reforms Congress should consider when working on the Farm Bill:

#1: Close loopholes like BBCE

BBCE, which stands for Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility, is a loophole in food stamps that allows states to ignore income and asset limits under federal law for food stamp applicants and enroll individuals who are ineligible based on federal income and asset limits. States use federal money for their cash welfare program to print welfare brochures and pamphlets or make referrals to a toll-free hotline with information about the food stamps program. This information is considered a “benefit,” so states consider the recipients “beneficiaries” who are now “categorically eligible” for the program. Forty-one states and Washington, D.C. use this loophole, allowing millions of ineligible enrollees to receive food stamps when they shouldn’t—costing taxpayers $112 billion over the next 10 years.

#2: Utilize work requirements 

Even after the pandemic, in the middle of a worker shortage, most able-bodied adults on food stamps do not work at all. States have found ways through waivers to keep many able-bodied adults on the sidelines and exempted from work requirements. Congress should extend work requirements to include more of these individuals, including parents of school-age children and adults up to age 65, the age at which they’d then qualify for Medicare and Social Security. 

Why? Because work requirements work. Before the pandemic, some states had reinstated work requirements with great success. When encouraged off the sidelines, workers saw their incomes triple and found work in more than 1,100 unique industries.

#3: Roll back the 2021 expansion 

In 2021, the Biden administration unilaterally—without congressional approval—implemented the largest food stamps increase in program history, which will cost taxpayers up to $250 billion over the next decade and has contributed significantly to rising inflation.

To address this massive increase in welfare spending, Congress can:

• Repeal the increase entirely
• Reset the Thrifty Food Plan to 2020 levels, adjusted for inflation
• Leave current allotments in place and freeze any future increases until a cost-neutral Thrifty Food Plan reaches current allotment levels

#4: Crack down on fraud in food stamps

There are several ways that Congress could crack down on food stamp fraud through the Farm Bill. 

Congress could clarify and limit authorized EBT card users to prevent the sale of food stamps for cash and the theft of food stamps from innocent beneficiaries. 

They could also require states to conduct regular, automatic data eligibility cross-checks to ensure enrollees are truly eligible for benefits. And they could require 10-day change reporting for all food stamps enrollees to track changes in income or other eligibility factors. 

Food stamps are an important resource for the truly needy in America. But as it stands, there is immense waste and abuse in the program. These reforms—if included in the Farm Bill—would help prioritize work in the program for able-bodied adults, preserve resources for the truly needy, and root out fraud and waste.