The Arizona House of Representatives gave preliminary approval to a bill Republicans say would weed out fraud in the SNAP program, which provides food assistance to low income individuals.
Republican Rep. Selina Bliss (Prescott) is a champion of SB 1071, which would require the Department of Economic Security to cross-check eligibility for SNAP benefits.
“So DES can look for SNAP purchases using Arizona debit cards in other states, thereby controlling for the fraud and protecting our taxpayers and SNAP recipients,” she said.
Democrats argued the bill is a waste of time and money.
“We're looking at potentially a $290 billion cut from the federal government in SNAP cuts upcoming, which is literally taking food from people's mouths, and now we're addressing a problem of fraud that doesn't exist,” Rep. Sarah Ligouri (D-Phoenix) said.
House Minority Leader Oscar de Los Santos (D-Laveen) said “the benefits in SNAP are 100% federally funded. So we’re going to be sending $66 million of Arizona taxpayer money every single year and save zero dollars.”
States including Arizona are facing deep cuts in federal funding for Medicaid and SNAP that could lead to 27,000 lost jobs in our state alone.
The bill will next go to a full House vote.
