SNAP Payment Security and Fraud Prevention Act of 2026

This bill changes the federal food assistance program (SNAP) to address theft of benefits from EBT cards. It gives the Agriculture Department's Inspector General authority to investigate and coordinate cases of benefit theft, and it creates a civil penalty equal to twice the value of benefits taken without authorization. It requires the Secretary of Agriculture to write cybersecurity rules under which states would issue chip-enabled EBT cards, phase out magnetic stripe cards, and let households get transaction alerts, freeze card-number use, and report fraud. States would have to replace damaged, stolen, or fraud-frozen cards within 3 business days and could not charge fees for certain replacements. Stores accepting SNAP would need chip-enabled payment terminals.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Nicole Malliotakis Republican sponsor
• 0 cosponsors