	Introduction

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation's largest domestic food assistance program, serving about 42.2 million recipients in an average month at a federal cost of over $68 billion in FY2017. SNAP has typically been reauthorized in a farm bill approximately every five years; this occurred most recently in 2014 ( P.L. 113-79 ). Policymakers have long been interested in reducing fraud and improving accuracy in the program, and provisions related to these goals are frequently included in farm bills. The report answers several questions around four main types of inaccuracy and misconduct: (1) trafficking SNAP benefits (by retailers and by recipients); (2) retailer application fraud; (3) errors and fraud in SNAP household applications; and (4) errors and fraud committed by state agencies (including a discussion of states' recent Quality Control (QC) misconduct). Certain key ideas that are fundamental to discussion of SNAP errors and fraud are explored further in the report: 
Errors are not the same as fraud. Fraud is intentional activity that breaks federal and/or state laws, but there are also ways that program stakeholders—particularly recipients and states—may inadvertently err, which could affect benefit amounts. Certain acts, such as trafficking, are always considered fraud, but other acts, such as duplicate enrollment, may be the result of either error or fraud depending on the circumstances of the case. SNAP fraud is relatively rare, according to available data and reports. There is no single data point that reflects all the forms of fraud in SNAP. The most frequently cited measure of fraud is a national estimate of retailer trafficking, which is a significant, but not the only, type of fraud in the program. While retailer trafficking and retailer application fraud are pursued primarily by a single federal entity, recipient violations are pursued by 53 different state agencies. The national payment error rate (NPER) is the most-often cited measure of nationwide SNAP payment accuracy, but it has limitations. It relies, in particular, on reports and data from the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) as well as the published audits of the USDA's Office of the Inspector General (USDA-OIG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Errors and Fraud in Benefit Issuance to Households

In addition to retailer trafficking and retailer application fraud, errors and fraud can arise in determining eligibility and benefit amounts for recipients. Roughly every three years, USDA-FNS publishes a study estimating the extent of retailer trafficking in SNAP over about three years of SNAP redemption data. The NPER is the most-often cited measure of payment accuracy in SNAP. The NPER estimates all overpayments and underpayments resulting from recipient errors, recipient application fraud, and agency error. For example, in FY2017, the NPER was 6.30%—which included a 5.19% overpayment rate and a 1.11% underpayment rate. Regardless of the cause of an overpayment, SNAP agencies are required to work towards recovering excess benefits from households that were overpaid. Applying the FY2017 NPER to total benefit issuance, in FY2017 an estimated $3.3 billion in benefits were overpaid, an estimated $710 million in benefits were underpaid. Recipient Fraud

Unlike retailer trafficking, which is handled by one federal entity (USDA-FNS), recipient fraud is detected and punished by 53 different SNAP agencies (50 states, DC, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and, as noted in the September 2012 USDA-OIG report, "FNS cannot estimate a recipient fraud rate because it has not established how States should compile, track, and report fraud in a uniform manner." According to the FY2016 SNAP State Activity Report
for every 10,000 households participating in SNAP, about 14 contained a recipient who was investigated and determined to have committed fraud that resulted in an overpayment that the state agency required the household to repay (30,274 claims established); for every $10,000 in benefits issued to households participating in SNAP, about $11 were determined by state agencies to have been overpaid due to recipient fraud and were required to be repaid by the overpaid household ($73,403,758 in fraud claims established); about 3% of the total number of claims established were established due to recipient fraud; about 11% of the total claims dollars established were established due to recipient fraud; for every 10,000 recipients participating in SNAP, about 13 were disqualified from the program for violating SNAP rules (e.g., committing fraud; 55,930 disqualified); about 1.5% of disqualification entries made into the USDA-FNS electronic Disqualified Recipient System (eDRS) in FY2016 were permanent disqualifications; and for every $10,000 in benefits issued to households participating in SNAP, about $21 were determined by state agencies to have been lost (overpaid due to recipient application fraud or trafficked) to recipient fraud associated with disqualified recipients ($136,475,242 in program loss associated with disqualified recipients). Recipient Errors

According to the FY2016 SNAP State Activity Report
for every 10,000 households participating in SNAP, about 181 were overpaid due to a recipient error and the state agency required the household to repay the overpaid amount (394,883 recipient error claims established); for every $10,000 in benefits issued to households participating in SNAP, about $63 were determined by state agencies to have been overpaid due to recipient errors and were required to be repaid by the overpaid household ($421,934,288 in recipient error claims established); about 45% of the total number of claims established were established due to recipient errors; about 62% of the total claims dollars established were established due to recipient errors; about 65% of FY2016 claims were established by four states; about 55% of FY2016 claims amounts were established by these four states; and these four states accounted for about 30% of SNAP participants. A retailer denied authorization to participate in SNAP is not generally subject to any penalties other than denial. Errors (i.e., recipient errors and agency errors) that occur during this process can result in underissuance or overissuance of SNAP benefits. Recipient fraud, like retailer fraud, can be detected through a variety of means, including the following: 
Analysis of EBT Transaction Data —Once USDA-FNS has completed the process of administratively penalizing a retailer for retailer trafficking, and the retailer has exhausted their appeal rights, then USDA-FNS provides the retailer trafficking case to the appropriate state agency including EBT card numbers which can be used to identify SNAP recipients who may be trafficking. Through this oversight, USDA-OIG and USDA-FNS identified concerns in state-reported Quality Control data. Combating Errors and Fraud: Issues and Strategies

Over time, USDA-FNS, SNAP state agencies, USDA-OIG, GAO, and other stakeholders have identified issues that may complicate or impede the detection and correction of errors and fraud in SNAP. Changes that strengthen payment accuracy and punishments against fraud can be in tension with other policy objectives, such as preserving recipient access to the program, and may have unintended consequences such as incurring costs greater than their savings. Balancing program objectives such as these is always a consideration for policymakers in this area. Additional authority and resources to develop a recipient trafficking rate might allow USDA-FNS to do some or all of the following:
conduct and publish a study of recipient trafficking of SNAP benefits using currently existing data, including a national recipient trafficking rate; determine and document what changes must be made to current regulations, forms, policies, and practices to standardize state agency reporting and calculation of recipient trafficking, including at minimum the definition of relevant terms (e.g., definition of "investigation"), the annual timeframes, and the data sources for compilation of recipient trafficking data; and implement the identified changes necessary to reliably and accurately document the national recipient trafficking rate. Receiving SNAP benefits is an entitlement for eligible individuals.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation's largest domestic food assistance program, serving over 42.1 million recipients in an average month at a federal cost of over $68 billion in FY2017. SNAP is jointly administered by state agencies, which handle most recipient functions, and the federal government—specifically, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS)—which supports and oversees the states and handles most retailer functions. In a program with diverse stakeholders, detecting, preventing, and addressing errors and fraud is complex. SNAP has typically been reauthorized in a farm bill approximately every five years; this occurred most recently in 2014 (P.L. 113-79). Policymakers have long been interested in reducing fraud and improving payment accuracy in the program. Provisions related to these goals have been included in past farm bill reauthorizations and may be considered for the next farm bill, expected in 2018.
There are four main types of inaccuracy and misconduct in SNAP:
Trafficking SNAP benefits is the illicit sale of SNAP benefits, which can involve both retailers and recipients. Retailer application fraud generally involves an illicit attempt by a store owner to participate in SNAP when the store or owner is not eligible. Errors and fraud by households applying for SNAP benefits can result in improper payments. Errors are unintentional, while fraud is the intentional violation of program rules. Errors and fraud by state agencies—agency errors can result in inadvertent improper payments; the discussion of agency fraud largely focuses on certain states' Quality Control (QC) misconduct.
Certain key ideas are fundamental to any discussion of SNAP errors and fraud:
Errors are not the same as fraud. Fraud is intentional activity that breaks federal and/or state laws, while errors can be the result of unintentional mistakes. Certain acts, such as trafficking SNAP benefits, are always considered fraud; other acts, such as duplicate enrollment, may be the result of either error or fraud depending on the circumstances of the case. SNAP fraud is relatively rare, according to available data and reports. There is no single measure that reflects all the forms of fraud in SNAP. There are some frequently cited measures that capture some parts of the issue, and there are relevant data from federal and state agencies' enforcement efforts.
The most frequently cited measure of fraud is the national retailer trafficking rate, which, estimated that 1.5% of SNAP benefits redeemed from FY2012-FY2014 were trafficked. While the national retailer trafficking rate (which is issued roughly every three years) estimates the extent of retailer trafficking, there is not a standard recipient trafficking rate, nor is there an overall recipient fraud rate.
USDA-FNS is responsible for identifying stores engaged in retailer trafficking—using transaction data analysis, undercover investigations, and other tools—and imposing penalties on store owners who commit violations. Retailers found to have trafficked may be subject to permanent disqualification from participation in SNAP, fines, and other penalties. USDA-FNS also works to identify fraud by retailers applying to accept SNAP benefits. Retailers found to have falsified their applications may be subject to denial, permanent disqualification, and other penalties.
While retailer trafficking and retailer application fraud are primarily pursued by a single federal entity (USDA-FNS), recipient violations (i.e., recipient trafficking and recipient application fraud) are pursued by 53 different state agencies. Recipients found to have trafficked may be required to repay the amount trafficked and may be subject to disqualification from receiving SNAP benefits and other penalties. State agencies' efforts to reduce and punish recipient fraud vary, which is evident, for instance, in state-submitted data on recipient disqualification activities.
The national payment error rate (NPER) is the most-cited measure of nationwide payment accuracy. Using USDA-FNS's Quality Control (QC) system, the NPER estimates states' accuracy in determining eligibility and benefit amounts. The NPER has limitations, though; for instance, it only reflects errors above a threshold amount ($38 in FY2017). After publishing a FY2014 NPER, USDA Office of the Inspector General (OIG ) and USDA-FNS identified data quality issues that prevented the publication of an NPER in FY2015 and FY2016, but USDA-FNS published a NPER for FY2017 in June 2018. For FY2017, it was estimated that 6.30% of SNAP benefit issuance was improper—including a 5.19% overpayment rate and a 1.11% underpayment rate. Regardless of the cause of an overpayment, SNAP agencies are required to work toward recovering excess benefits from households that were overpaid (this is referred to as "establishing a claim against a household"). Applying these rates to benefits issued in FY2017 (over $63.6 billion), an estimated $3.30 billion in benefits were overpaid, and about $710 million in benefits were underpaid.
Overpayments and underpayments to households can be the result of recipient errors, recipient fraud, or agency errors during the certification process. State agencies rely on household-provided information in applications, but also employ a range of data matches—some required by federal law, some optional that vary by state—to promote accuracy and double-check information. According to the USDA-FNS FY2016 State Activity Report, of states' established claims for overpayment, approximately 62% of overpayment claim dollars were for recipient errors, about 28% were for agency errors, and about 11% were due to recipient fraud.
In addition to inadvertent agency errors, state agencies and their agents have been involved in isolated instances of fraud. Beyond cases of fraud conducted by state agency employees for personal gain, in FY2017 the Department of Justice obtained False Claim Act settlements from three state agencies accused of falsifying their Quality Control data and unlawfully obtaining federal bonuses. Investigations into this matter, conducted by the USDA-OIG, are ongoing.
Across all types of fraud, oversight entities such as the Government Accountability Office and USDA-OIG have identified issues and strategies relevant to combating errors and fraud in SNAP. USDA-FNS has also proposed related regulatory changes that were not finalized. On the retailer side, issues identified focus on opportunities to prevent and more promptly punish trafficking. On the recipient side, issues identified include the nonexistence of a recipient fraud rate, states'varied levels of anti-fraud efforts (which may be better incentivized), and improvements to data matching in the application process. During the 115th Congress, Members voted on farm bill proposals that contained some changes to SNAP program integrity policy; these proposals are summarized in CRS Report R45275, The House and Senate 2018 Farm Bills (H.R. 2): A Side-by-Side Comparison with Current Law.
Changes that might strengthen payment accuracy and punishments against fraud can be in tension with other policy objectives such as preserving recipient access to the program, and may have unintended consequences such as incurring costs greater than their savings. Balancing program objectives such as these are considerations for policymakers in this area.