Arizona Republican Rep. Matt Salmon introduced a bill Thursday to require food stamp users to show photo identification when they use their benefits card.
Salmon says his
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Verify Act will fight both fraud and abuse.
“Every year, fraud and abuse of SNAP EBT cards costs the U.S. government over $850 million dollars,"
he said in a statement.
"Investigating and preventing the illegal selling of SNAP cards and other violations of the SNAP program accounts for more than half of the resources the USDA Inspector General expends. This has to change."
Salmon insists the bill will "protect those who truly need SNAP assistance, and ensures those who would defraud recipients and the U.S. taxpayer are unable."
The bill has eight other Republican co-sponsors.
According to The Blaze, Republicans have broadly supported the use of
photo IDs to reduce voter fraud – which many Demorats have bitterly protested.
SNAP benefits are put onto electronic benefits transfer cards, and Salmon says requiring retailers to check for a photo ID would deter people from selling their cards to others, The Blaze reports.
If the bill comes up for a vote, it’s expected to run into opposition from Democrats, who have pointed out low-income people don't always have access to a photo ID, The Blaze notes.
Under Salmon’s bill, states would have three years to require anyone authorized to use an electronic benefits transfer card to present a photo ID to cashiers when using that card.
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