Every day, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) delivers nutrition benefits to over 41 million low-income Americans to help them feed their families with dignity and choice. SNAP recipients access their benefits via electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, which have become a frequent target of “skimming” crimes. Skimmers take advantage of security weaknesses in EBT cards by using hidden devices to capture data during grocery checkout. The stolen data is then used to access and drain the benefits in the card holder’s account.

In December of 2022, Congress passed a law to protect and replace SNAP benefits that were stolen from families in need. Unfortunately, that law is set to expire on December 20, 2024. This important policy has led to the replacement of over $150 million in stolen benefits nationwide, and it must be continued.

Without urgent action, families whose SNAP benefits are stolen may lose their ability to put food on the table. Now is an important time to remind policymakers that they have an obligation to make program beneficiaries safe and whole. Please join MAZON in urging Congress to extend the benefit restoration policy.