The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), facing its first-ever funding lapse on Nov. 1 amid the ongoing government shutdown, is
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), facing its first-ever funding lapse on Nov. 1 amid the ongoing government shutdown, is fraught with systemic fraud and abuse.
Nearly a month into the shutdown, Democrats continue to block a short-term funding resolution, putting SNAP benefits for roughly 42 million Americans — about 12.5% of the population — at risk. The standoff has also reignited questions over whether the program is truly serving those most in need or being exploited by bad actors.
“Roughly one in every ten dollars spent on food stamps in this country is improper,” Hayden Dublois, data and analytics director for the Foundation for Government Accountability, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Put another way, as policymakers are grappling with food stamp benefits running out due to the government shutdown, the resources that will be lost to improper food stamp spending this year could more than cover all of the legitimate food stamp payments for the entire month of November.”
SNAP is a federally funded program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).
Participation in SNAP has surged over the past two decades, rising from 17.2 million monthly participants in 2000 to 41.7 million in 2024. During the same period, annual spending ballooned from $28.5 billion to nearly $100 billion, according to USDA data.
