Press Releases
Finstad Introduces SNAP Data Transparency and Oversight Act Requiring States to Report SNAP Data
December 9, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brad Finstad (MN-01), Chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture, introduced the SNAP Data Transparency and Oversight Act, legislation that would require states to provide beneficiary-level Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) when requested, or risk the withholding of federal funding for the program.
Additionally, Congressman Finstad was joined by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15), and the Minnesota Republican Congressional Delegation, in leading a corresponding letter to Governor Tim Walz outlining concerns regarding the state’s administration of SNAP, and highlighting recent failures to improve program integrity, cybersecurity, and reporting. The legislation and letter come after the State of Minnesota failed to comply with USDA’s May 6th, 2025, SNAP data request, and instead has taken legal action to block federal oversight.
“American taxpayers deserve to have confidence that states are being good stewards of their dollars and that they are reaching the intended recipients,” said Rep. Finstad. “When states like Minnesota refuse to provide USDA with the data needed to prevent fraud, they allow mismanagement to continue. That is exactly why I’m leading efforts to require full cooperation and oversight on behalf of Minnesotans.”
Full text of the SNAP Data Transparency and Oversight Act here.
Read the letter to Gov. Walz here.
Background:
- In FY2024, over 450,000 Minnesotans utilized SNAP, costing over $850 million.
- According to USDA, data from the 28 states that have complied with the Department’s data request found nearly 186,000 dead participants receiving benefits and over 355,000 recipients dually enrolled within their own state or in multiple states, among other instances of fraud.
- Over 22.3 million individuals have been run against the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, resulting in more than 475,000 case files under further scrutiny by states for further action, including case termination. USDA-FNS also identified multiple instances of recipients spending more than $10,000 per transaction.
