Democratic attorneys general sue over SNAP rules and data requests

Twenty-one state attorneys general have filed lawsuits challenging a USDA guidance that keeps food-stamp benefits for certain non-citizens and a federal data-request that would let the agency verify who is receiving SNAP.

A group of twenty-one state attorneys general filed federal lawsuits in Oregon to block recent USDA actions affecting the SNAP program. The first case, spearheaded by New York Attorney General Letitia James, targets an October guidance that continues to allow certain non-citizens to receive benefits despite a congressional five-year waiting period, calling the rule arbitrary and capricious. The second case, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, challenges a USDA request for detailed recipient data, which the states label a surveillance effort.

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has cited internal reviews indicating roughly 186,000 deceased individuals and 500,000 duplicate recipients still drawing benefits, though the underlying data remain unpublished. The author, a veteran financial expert, argues that the real issue is the lack of an audit rather than the guidance itself, emphasizing that any dollars paid to ineligible recipients reduce resources for needy families.

He also notes that the guidance’s drafting errors have created confusion for fifty state agencies. The lawsuits aim to force the agency to revise the guidance and halt the data-collection request while highlighting broader concerns about program integrity.