A consortium of 20 states and Washington, D.C., have filed a lawsuit challenging the USDA’s demands they turn over the personal information of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients.
In May, the USDA made an unprecedented demand that states turn over massive amounts of personal information on all SNAP applicants and recipients, including Social Security numbers and home addresses dating back five years, to prevent fraud and abuse.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has threatened to withhold funding for the program if states fail to comply. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, representing one of the states suing, said the $190 million in funding represents half of the state’s costs for the program and any delay would be "catastrophic."
"We will not be intimidated by the Trump administration’s threats to illegally withhold SNAP funding unless we agree to violate the privacy of our residents," Platkin said.
The states argue federal and state law prohibit them from disclosing personal identifying SNAP data unless strictly necessary for the administration of the program, or if other limited circumstances exist. They are hoping a district court will declare USDA's demands unlawful.
"This isn’t about oversight and transparency," California Attorney General Rob Banta said at a press conference. "This is about establishing widespread surveillance under the guise of fighting fraud. We can call it what it is, an illegal data grab designed to scare people away from public assistance programs."
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has argued collecting the private information will ensure SNAP is preserved for only those eligible.
Joining New Jersey and California in the suit are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Sam Barron ✉
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