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25 Investigates: Lawmakers debate calls for more scrutiny of welfare fraud

Lawmakers in Washington are calling for a crackdown on food stamps fraud and waste just days after 25 Investigates uncovered millions of dollars in Massachusetts welfare cash spent out of state.

Investigative Reporter Eric Rasmussen broke the story Monday on millions in EBT card cash being spent outside the state and now a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found improper payments and outright fraud by some food stamps recipients and the retailers who accept those welfare benefits.

But there is still disagreement and confusion about exactly how widespread the problem really is and how to fix it – a debate highlighted at a House Oversight subcommittee hearing Wednesday.

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“When states look for food stamp fraud, they find it. What’s indefensible is that many don’t bother to look,” said Sam Adolphsen of the Foundation for Government Accountability during his testimony.

Lawmakers clashed over how to reform the $63 billion food stamp program – now known as SNAP benefits.

“For families like mine and millions of others, SNAP and its predecessors have served as a critical social safety net,” said U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois.

Yet, the new report by the Government Accountability Office found only a half-percent of the 43 million people on food stamps received the employment training that’s available through the program.

“It’s not too much to ask to say, if you’re getting a benefit from the government, you should have to do something to receive that,” said U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. “Afterall, it’s hardworking taxpayers’ dollars that we’re talking about.”

For more than a year, 25 Investigates has exposed food stamp fraud and suspicious spending in Massachusetts.
            
In 2017 alone, state records reveal people on welfare withdrew almost $4 million in EBT cash from out-of-state ATMs, including withdrawals at casinos, resort hotels and even a cruise ship.

But at Wednesday’s congressional hearing, at least one lawmaker seemed to call for less scrutiny of those who receive government assistance – especially food stamps.

“No one should be hungry and no one should be questioned about whether or not they’re eligible for a $1.40-a-meal,” said U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman, D-New Jersey.

But U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, R-North Carolina, pushed back, saying, “My friends like to make this a humane argument, but what is humanitarian about keeping people trapped at this poverty level boggles my mind.”

25 Investigates asked to speak to U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, who is considered one of the leading champions of the poor on Capitol Hill, about his reaction to Wednesday’s hearing, but he was not available for comment.