Rep. Dan Goldman Secures Critical SNAP EBT Theft Protections in FY26 Appropriations Bill Amidst Congressional GOP Slashing Food Nutrition Programs

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) secured the inclusion of real-time fraud detection and prevention for SNAP Eletronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) transactions in the FY26 Agricultural Appropriations bill, which would direct the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to adopt industry-standard electronic fraud detection that would pause suspicious transactions and secure SNAP EBT cards, preventing SNAP EBT theft before it happens. Employing real-time fraud detection would prevent benefits from being stolen by automatically blocking potentially suspicious transactions, such as when someone is attempting to use a card several states away from the owner’s home. 

“Republicans are hard at work slashing and burning life-saving food assistance that nearly three million New Yorkers rely on. But we cannot give up the fight to make sure that every New Yorker has food on the table, and these anti-fraud protections are a small but important victory as we fight the larger war to protect everyday New Yorkers,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “SNAP theft is a massive problem, yet President Trump and Republicans have prevented victims from being reimbursed. I will continue to fight tooth and nail to solve food insecurity once and for all.” 

The inclusion of Rep. Goldman's appropriations request comes despite House Republicans’ reconciliation bill’s nearly $300 billion cut to SNAP, which, if enacted, would devastate nearly three million New Yorkers' ability to feed themselves and their families. Between new work requirements, more stringent eligibility criteria, and funding cuts, the GOP’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ would kick 340,000 New Yorkers off of SNAP and cut benefits for millions. 

Rampant EBT theft costs New York City seniors, families, and children tens of millions of dollars every year. Last year, over 90,000 New York City households had SNAP EBT benefits stolen, costing them over $40 million. Following House Republicans’ refusal to extend federal SNAP theft reimbursement authorization, states have been left to bridge the gap with their own resources. 

Specifically, Congressman Goldman secured inclusion of the following language in the FY26 House Agricultural Appropriations Bill: 

SNAP Card Skimming — The Committee remains concerned about the prevalence of SNAP benefit theft due to identity theft, card skimming, card cloning, and other fraudulent methods. The Committee is also concerned that Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards lack the proper security features necessary to protect against benefit theft.  

The Committee directs FNS to engage with State and local agencies and appropriate stakeholders to develop a more secure EBT card that contains innovative technologies to protect against benefit theft. Further, the Committee directs FNS to take immediate action and safeguard SNAP from fraudulent activity by adopting industry-standard, real-time analytics capable of detecting and preventing fraudulent transactions before they are completed. 

Congressman Goldman has made securing and expanding New Yorkers’ SNAP benefits a top priority since taking office. 

In March, Congressman Goldman hosted a press conference to demand a comprehensive change to state and federal law to address the urgent issue of stolen EBT benefits. 

In the Fall of 2024, Congressman Goldman led an effort to extend critical protections to victims of food stamp theft that are set to expire at the end of September without further action. The lawmakers sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to include a provision in a forthcoming stop-gap funding bill that would allow victims to continue to be reimbursed from federal funds.  

In Summer of 2023, Congressman Goldman introduced the ‘SNAP Theft Protection Act,’ which aimed to update SNAP to allow states to use existing SNAP funding to refund stolen benefits to victims of SNAP-related scams.