119th (2025–2027)
H.R. 9359
This bill amends federal food assistance law to help people whose SNAP benefits are stolen through identity theft or card skimming. It requires the federal Department of Agriculture to create rules allowing states to replace stolen benefits for affected households, while minimizing the burden on victims to prove the theft occurred. The legislation also directs the department to report to Congress on the prevalence of stolen benefits and examine whether upgrading to more secure electronic benefit transfer cards with embedded microchips could reduce fraud. Additionally, the bill offers states 90 percent federal funding to cover administrative costs of transitioning from magnetic-stripe EBT cards to chip-enabled cards through September 30, 2031, provided they submit an approved transition plan that ensures uninterrupted access to benefits during the changeover. States must include education and outreach efforts in their plans and follow a specific technical standard for the new chip cards.