Liz Friedlander (202) 225-1564
Liz.Friedlander@mail.house.gov
 
James Ryder (202) 225-0020
James.Ryder@mail.house.gov

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Joe Baca, D-Calif., Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry, held a hearing to review quality control systems in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Subcommittee heard testimony from government officials and advocacy and industry groups about efforts to reduce the error rate in the SNAP program and to combat fraud and abuse in the system.

“In these tough economic times, it is essential that Congress ensures our federal nutrition programs serve as good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Today’s hearing provided an excellent opportunity to examine ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the SNAP program. With the program currently under great strain, serving a record 40 million Americans a month, this review is more critical now than ever before,” said Subcommittee Chairman Baca.

“The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has done much to help many Americans access food supplies for themselves and their families in times of difficulty, and it is important to maintain the integrity of this program. Like all federal programs funded by American taxpayers, we must ensure its sound program eligibility standards and improve efficiencies in its administration,” said Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb. “I was pleased to hear from our witnesses about how quality control measures have been operating and how we can further improve SNAP.”

The 2008 Farm Bill made substantial improvements to the SNAP program by increasing program benefits and clarifying eligibility standards. The Farm Bill also increased the penalty the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can levy on fraudulent retailers.

Written testimony provided by the witnesses is available on the Committee website: http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html. A full transcript of the hearing will be posted on the Committee website at a later date.

Witness List:

Panel I

Ms. Julie Paradis, Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Ms. Kay E. Brown, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, D.C.

The Honorable Phyllis K. Fong, Inspector General, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Don Winstead, Deputy Secretary, Florida Department of Children and Families, on behalf of American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), Tallahassee, Florida

Panel II

Mr. James D. Weill, President, Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), Washington, D.C.

Mr. Scott Faber, Vice President for Federal Affairs, Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), Washington, D.C.

Ms. Jennifer Hatcher, Senior Vice President, Government Relations, Food Marketing Institute (FMI), Washington, D.C.

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