S. 1540 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Apr 30, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryFull SNAP replacement for stolen benefits
Ever heard of card skimming? It's when someone steals money from a benefits card using fraudulent methods. This bill requires states to replace the full amount of SNAP benefits that households lose to card skimming, cloning, or similar fraud. Right now, states can only replace up to two months of benefits, but this bill removes that limit and makes the full replacement requirement permanent.
How it affects you
If you receive SNAP benefits and your card is skimmed or cloned, your state would have to give you back every dollar that was stolen instead of just a partial amount. This directly helps households that depend on SNAP for groceries and food.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Apr 30, 2025)
Fairness for Victims of SNAP Skimming Act of 2025
This bill requires the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to provide for the replacement of the full amount of a household's stolen benefits.
Specifically, using funds provided by the Department of Agriculture, a state agency must provide a household with replacement SNAP benefits equal to the amount of benefits stolen through card skimming, card cloning, or similar fraudulent methods. This requirement applies if the state agency determines that the benefits were stolen and meets certain requirements.
Under current law, a state agency may only replace SNAP benefits that were stolen between the period beginning on October 1, 2022, and ending on December 20, 2024. Further, the replacement amount is limited to the lesser of the amount of (1) the benefits stolen, or (2) two months of the household's monthly allotment immediately prior to the date on which the benefits were stolen. Thus, this bill permanently extends the provision and provides for the replacement of the full amount of the benefits stolen.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 1540
A BILL
Fairness for Victims of SNAP Skimming Act of 2025
Sponsor: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) · Introduced Apr 30, 2025 · Agriculture and Food · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Apr 30, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.”