Mark Alford: SNAP has ballooned out of control. The farm bill needs to rein it in | Opinion

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP was intended to give hardworking Americans a second chance during difficult stretches in life. Previously known as food stamps, it was never intended to become a lifestyle but rather a life vest. In spite of this, the program has shifted from its original intentions, and has continually grown. Nutrition programs now represent 84% of the farm bill and will cost $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years.

The 2002 farm bill’s eligibility expansions, the switch from paper food stamps to EBT cards, the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic all caused the program to balloon far beyond levels or ever envisioned — even going from costing $63.5 billion in 2019 to $145 billion in 2023.

Aside from these unchecked expansions, increased administrative flexibilities have allowed state governments to abuse their power and to evade the reasonable requirements that SNAP utilizes to ensure that able-bodied adult SNAP recipients without dependents don’t take advantage of the current system. The specific flexibilities include the provision of work requirement waivers and hoarding unused waivers.

SNAP has also been plagued by overpayments and errors. SNAP’s national overpayment rate is 9.84% — leading to more than $34 million in erroneous payments every single day and $13.15 billion per year. And, this isn’t even factoring in that any overpayment of less than $48 isn’t counted in this, so the erroneous payments could be much higher.

Despite these increases and rampant overpayments, we have seen no evidence of SNAP helping to provide a healthier lifestyle. The truth is we have seen the opposite, and it is catastrophic. Our adult obesity rate has risen from 15% in the late 1970s to 42% today, and SNAP recipients have even higher obesity rates than low-income nonrecipients.

This is aided by sugary drinks, which are the second most purchased items sold through SNAP — accounting for 5% of dollars SNAP recipients spend on food and costing between $2 billion and $4 billion annually. The truth is, as the number of SNAP recipients has grown, our healthiness levels have fallen.

This shows a definite need for changes to SNAP to ensure solvency of this program; to curb the waste, fraud, and abuse; to incentivize healthy choices and to rein in our skyrocketing national debt — almost $35 trillion.

This is why we have advocated for a “pro-WASH” approach for SNAP in the farm bill — pro-work, pro-accountability, pro-sustenance and pro-health.

• The 2024 farm bill is pro-work.

Congress would update work training programs to support individuals in building career pathways and gaining upward mobility without fear of losing benefits or training being counted against them.

We would eliminate the income of young people from being counted against any SNAP household’s eligibility to allow young people to more easily enter the workforce.

Lastly, Congress would increase the earned income deduction for purposes of SNAP eligibility – allowing SNAP families to keep more of their earned wages.

• The 2024 farm bill is pro-accountability.

Congress would promote integrity and accountability through creating an office of program integrity at the Department of Agriculture to focus on SNAP overpayments.

We would create a National Accuracy Clearinghouse to prevent duplicative participation through multiple states.

My colleagues and I would eliminate the threshold for any erroneous payment. An error is an error and should be counted as such, period.

And we would incentivize states to recoup fraudulently obtained benefits by allowing them to keep more of the fraudulently distributed dollars to reinvest in their own integrity practices.

• The 2024 farm bill is pro-sustenance.

With these changes, we would not cut nor decrease SNAP benefits. Instead, we support SNAP access to families formerly disallowed to receive the benefits like those with past drug offenses.

Congress would direct the USDA Secretary to identify and notify college students of their SNAP eligibility to ensure they are aware, and they are able to enroll.

We would expand the funding and reach of school meals programs to ensure that our children receive the nutrients they need.

And we would invest in and modernize food distribution programs.

• The 2024 farm bill is pro-health.

We would promote healthy lifestyles in SNAP by advancing healthy eating policies, and we call attention the diet-related chronic diseases plaguing our nation through annual USDA reports.

Congress would expand opportunities for busy families to make healthier choices by allowing them to use benefits on frozen fruits and vegetables through SHOPP Act — legislation we led.

And we would strengthen nutrition education’s impact by highlighting the need for consultation with health care practitioners and educators.

This is the truth about the SNAP program and the commonsense solutions offered in the 2024 farm bill. Some of the most radical voices have used their platform to spread misinformation and to wrongfully claim that the 2024 farm bill attacks SNAP recipients.

This could not be further from the truth. In fact, through this farm bill we strengthen the program through greater support for families, supporting workforce growth, promoting program integrity, and advancing healthier lifestyles. It’s time to WASH SNAP, by providing temporary healthy sustenance for those truly qualified, and helping our fellow Americans transition to a better life.

Mark Alford represents Missouri’s 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.