1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

As a constituent who is deeply concerned with criminals targeting households with the lowest incomes, I urge you to support the replacement of participants’ stolen Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, Congress authorized the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to replace stolen SNAP benefits through September 30, 2024. The Continuing Resolution which will be voted on soon will temporarily extend replacement benefits to December 20, 2024. It is critical that we support households that rely on SNAP to put food on the table by ensuring they have access to those benefits to buy that food. To date, over 195,000 households have been impacted by criminals stealing their benefits. Should the benefit replacements expire before a permanent fix is legislated and implemented by all states, then SNAP households will be in danger of increased food insecurity at a time when USDA reports that food insecurity is rising. Therefore, I urge you to take the following actions: - co-sponsor the Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act (H.R. 7585/S. 3893) and support measures to improve EBT security, and - co-sponsor the Fairness for Victims of Skimming Act (H.R. 6005/S. 3089) and support the extension of replacement benefits and full replacement of stolen benefits for SNAP participants. I urge you to protect tens of thousands of people who participate in SNAP in our state and to secure their benefit replacements should they be stolen. Thanks!