Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act

Bill: 119-s-302
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA]
Introduced: 2025-01-29
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Latest action: action_date: 2025-01-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Summaries:
action_date: 2025-01-29
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act</strong></p><p>This bill requires states to recoup any overpayments of benefits made to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients and adjusts the formula for determining a state's liability rate for overpayments.</p><p>As background, the SNAP quality control system measures how accurately SNAP state agencies determine a household’s eligibility and benefit amount and determines overpayments of benefits and underpayments. States that have comparatively high payment error rates for two consecutive years are assessed a penalty (i.e., liability amount). The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) must use a statutory formula to determine the liability amount.</p><p>Under current law, FNS must set a tolerance level for excluding small payment errors in the calculation of payment error rates (e.g., $56 or less in FY2024). This bill reduces the tolerance level for excluding small errors to $0 for FY2025 and each succeeding fiscal year.</p><p>The bill also requires state agencies to recoup any overpayments of benefits made to SNAP beneficiaries.</p><p>The bill adjusts the liability rate formula to reduce the state payment error rate based on the percentage of overpayments recouped by the state. Further, the bill increases the multiplier used in the liability rate&nbsp;formula to 25% (from 10%).</p>

tv_txt: II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 302 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 29, 2025 Ms. Ernst (for herself, Mrs. Britt , and Mr. Grassley ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to improve the calculation and reduce the taxpayer cost of payment errors under the supplemental nutrition assistance program, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act . 2. Quality control system tolerance level for excluding small errors Section 16(c) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2025(c) ) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)— (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii)— (i) in subclause (I), by striking and at the end; (ii) in subclause (II)— (I) by inserting through fiscal year 2024 after thereafter ; and (II) by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and (iii) by adding at the end the following: (III) for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, $0. ; (B) in subparagraph (C)— (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking may and inserting shall ; (ii) in clause (ii)(I), by inserting , as adjusted under subparagraph (H), if applicable after agency ; and (iii) in clause (iii), by striking 10 and inserting 25 ; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (H) Reduction of payment error rate based on percentage of overpayments recouped In determining the liability amount of a State agency under subparagraph (C) for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, the payment error rate described in clause (ii)(I) of that subparagraph shall be equal to the product obtained by multiplying— (i) the payment error rate of the State agency for that fiscal year; and (ii) the percentage of the total amount of overpayments of benefits made by the State agency that are not recouped by the State agency under paragraph (9) for that fiscal year. ; (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following: (9) Recoupment of overpayments Each State agency shall seek to recoup any overpayments of benefits made to benefit recipients. .