To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require certain State agencies and covered Indian Tribal organizations to replace summer EBT benefits that are determined to have been stolen, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Bonamici (for herself and Mr. Goldman of New York) …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill requires the USDA to implement comprehensive fraud prevention measures for the Summer EBT program, which provides food benefits to low-income children during summer months. It mandates procedures for replacing benefits stolen through card skimming, cloning, and similar scams, and establishes security standards, multi-agency coordination, and reporting requirements to combat growing electronic benefit theft.
Who Benefits and How
Low-income families with children who receive Summer EBT benefits are the primary beneficiaries - they will have stolen benefits replaced and gain better protection against fraud. State agencies and Tribal organizations benefit from federal funding to cover replacement costs and receive clearer guidance on fraud prevention. Payment security technology companies and EBT equipment vendors may see increased demand for anti-skimming solutions and security upgrades at retail locations.
Who Bears the Burden and How
State agencies and Tribal organizations face new compliance requirements including mandatory fraud prevention plans, claims validation procedures, and regular reporting to USDA - all within tight deadlines (60 days for initial plans). Retailers accepting EBT may need to upgrade equipment with anti-skimming technology. Federal taxpayers fund the benefit replacements and administrative costs. The USDA must develop extensive new regulations, coordinate with multiple agencies, and produce reports to Congress.
Key Provisions
- Requires USDA to issue ongoing security guidance based on industry standards for detecting and preventing card skimming, cloning, and similar fraud methods
- Mandates replacement of stolen Summer EBT benefits, capped at either the stolen amount from the current year or one benefit allotment (whichever is less)
- Establishes multi-agency coordination with HHS, DOJ, state agencies, Tribal organizations, retailers, and EBT contractors to investigate fraud patterns and develop prevention measures
- Requires State agencies and Tribal organizations to submit fraud prevention and benefit replacement plans within 60 days of enactment
- Directs GAO to audit the USDA's management of Summer EBT payment security within 2 years and recommend improvements
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to implement fraud prevention measures and benefit replacement procedures for the Summer EBT program to protect against card skimming, cloning, and other fraudulent theft methods.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Mandate comprehensive fraud prevention infrastructure for Summer EBT program, including security measures, benefit replacement procedures, multi-agency coordination, and GAO oversight to address growing card skimming and cloning threats"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Low-income families with children (eligible households receiving Summer EBT benefits)
- State agencies (receive federal funding for benefit replacement)
- EBT card security vendors and payment processors (equipment enhancements and security measure implementation)
- Payment security technology companies (demand for anti-skimming/cloning solutions)
Likely Burden Bearers
- State agencies and Tribal organizations (new compliance requirements, reporting mandates, claims validation procedures)
- Retailers accepting EBT (potential equipment upgrade requirements)
- EBT contractors (new security standards and coordination requirements)
- Federal taxpayers (funding for stolen benefit replacement)
- USDA (extensive rulemaking, guidance, coordination, and reporting requirements)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "state_agencies"
- → State agencies administering Summer EBT
- "attorney_general"
- → Attorney General of the United States
- "comptroller_general"
- → Comptroller General of the United States
- "covered_indian_tribal_organizations"
- → Indian Tribal organizations participating in Summer EBT
- "director_of_office_of_family_assistance"
- → Director of the Office of Family Assistance of the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Benefits provided under Section 13A of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1762)
Retail food stores described in subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) and vendors described in subparagraph (B) of such subsection
Card skimming, card cloning, and other similar fraudulent methods for stealing summer EBT benefits
Households eligible to receive summer EBT benefits under the program
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology