Rock Island Today

Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) spoke out about the misuse of the SNAP program and her own experience with it.

In a Facebook post this week, McCombie shared her experiences with SNAP along with new information about the program:

"Many years ago I was questioned by a new clerk using my mother's 'SNAP' card to buy her Ensure... she was only able to eat through a feeding tube at that point... luckily I shopped local and the owner knew me and quickly remedied the situation but today there is little to question and grocery clerks around the district do talk to me about fraud! They feel guilty doing so because they want people to be helped but know this program has gotten too big to avoid the misuse! Misuse that will hurt those that need it the most! 

"From the article, The cost of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) hitting a record-high $113.8 billion in fiscal year 2021.

"The Congressional Budget Office projects SNAP will cost about $531 billion from fiscal year 2024 through FY 2028, the five-year period covered by the next farm bill."

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is calling for big changes to the SNAP program.

U.S. representative from Pennsylvania Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-Dist. 15) expects SNAP to cost taxpayers $1 trillion over the next 10 years, a FarmWeek Now report said this week. He is calling for changes to the income and employment criteria to qualify for the program and setting stricter guidelines around what foods SNAP users can spend their benefits on. Similar policy suggestions are also outlined in a wide-ranging document called the "Blueprint to Save America: FY 2023 Budget," published in June by the RSC.

U.S. Reps. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro), Darin LaHood (R-Dunlap) and Mary Miller (R-Oakland) are members of the RSC. In its proposal, the committee further calls for consolidating SNAP into individual state block grant programs and implementing "anti-fraud" measures such as showing a State ID when using an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card, barring using an EBT card in other states and prohibiting cash withdrawals of EBT benefits.

Some items are not eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits, a GO Banking Rates report said. For example, food that is hot when sold, such as coffee, pizza, tea, soup, and roasted or fried chicken cannot be bought using SNAP.