The Farm Bill is a massive piece of legislation on its own and I am pleased the House was able to carve out the food stamp portion of the bill. The separate issues of farm subsidies and food stamps must be addressed independently. The cost to taxpayers for food stamps alone has reached nearly $80 Billion dollars a year and there appears to be a lot of fraud and abuse within the system. Over forty-seven million people are receiving food stamps according to the latest USDA report. Back in January of this year I contacted Florida State CFO Jeff Atwater to see if the state had a crossover data program to see if families who were receiving food stamps were also receiving free breakfast, lunch, and sometimes even dinner at our public schools. The executive director of the Medicaid and Public Assistance Fraud Strike Force emailed me with the following response: “Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding a crossover data match between citizens receiving SNAP benefits (formerly Food Stamps) and students receiving free or low cost meal programs in their district schools. CFO Atwater asked to respond to your request. The two programs are separate programs, although both are overseen by the US Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. I was unable to find any crossover match reporting at the state government level, so I would suggest you contact the US Department of Agriculture. That federal agency may have the data you’re seeking.”
I have not been able to do the research at the USDA to see if they were keeping any such records. I believe we should know if there is some double-dipping going on within these two programs due to lack of proper oversight. In addition, I understand that in many states food stamps can be used at convenience stores and fast food restaurants. I do not believe the intention of the SNAP program was to allow people to purchase unhealthy junk and fast foods. They should be limited to grocery stores and bulk purchase stores such as Sam’s.
The more we make people comfortable in their poverty the less likely they will be to pull themselves out of it. There are many who deserve this assistance, but I believe there are also many who are abusing the system.
