Oregon’s SNAP Errors Reach Alarming Levels as Trump Administration Pressures States for Personal Data
With Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud increasingly in the spotlight in Oregon, the Trump Administration has turned its attention to the program. It is seeking ways to halt fraudulent activities.
Oregon SNAP Fraud In The Spotlight
While the full extent of SNAP fraud perpetrated by organized criminal organizations, individual recipients, and retailers willing to break the law for profit remains unclear, the Trump Administration is approaching the program from an enforcement perspective.
The Administration sees this fraud as a significant and expensive problem, but there is little publicly available data, and some researchers and advocates are skeptical of its scale.
Of the records shared by states, the USDA indicated that it found 186,000 deceased people (about 1% of participants) received benefits, and about 500,000 people (about 2.7%) received benefits in more than one jurisdiction.
The Trump Administration insists that states turn over data on individual SNAP recipients, including personal data such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and immigration status. Many red states have complied, while most blue states are pushing back in court, contending that this violates recipients’ privacy.
Oregon SNAP Losses Could Largely Be Due To Administrative Errors, Not Fraud
Trump’s SNAP fraud push has landed in a state already paying the price. Oregon has one of the highest SNAP payment error rates in the country and a $15.7 million federal penalty on the books.
Source: USDA FNS SNAP QC payment error rate tables for FY 2022, FY 2023, FY 2024 plus Oregon Legislature committee document citing penalty and ODHS PER explainer
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The USDA’s annual reviews and reports on each state’s SNAP payment error rate (PER) reflect payment errors that happen when people get more or less food benefits than they should.
Source: USDA FNS FY 2024 SNAP Quality Control payment error rate table and FY 2024 national totals
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Payment errors mostly happen by accident, not because anyone is trying to cheat, and are not the same as fraud.
States with a PER below 6% will not be required to pay any cost share, while those with a PER of 6% or higher will pay a cost share up to 15% for those with a PER of 10% or more. Oregon’s PER was 22% in 2022, decreasing to 16% in 2023, then 14.06 % in 2024. The goal is 6%.