S. 302: Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act
A Senate bill (S.) in the 119th U.S. Congress.
Overview
| Congress | 119th U.S. Congress (2025–2026) |
|---|---|
| Type | Senate bill (S.) |
| Originating chamber | Senate |
| Introduced | 2025-01-29 |
| Sponsor | Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] |
| Policy area | Agriculture and Food |
| Cosponsors | 2 |
| Latest action | 2025-01-29 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. |
| Last updated | 2025-12-05 |
Summary
Official summary (Introduced in Senate, 2025-01-29):
Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act
This bill requires states to recoup any overpayments of benefits made to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients and adjusts the formula for determining a state's liability rate for overpayments.
As background, the SNAP quality control system measures how accurately SNAP state agencies determine a household’s eligibility and benefit amount and determines overpayments of benefits and underpayments. States that have comparatively high payment error rates for two consecutive years are assessed a penalty (i.e., liability amount). The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) must use a statutory formula to determine the liability amount.
Under current law, FNS must set a tolerance level for excluding small payment errors in the calculation of payment error rates (e.g., $56 or less in FY2024). This bill reduces the tolerance level for excluding small errors to $0 for FY2025 and each succeeding fiscal year.
The bill also requires state agencies to recoup any overpayments of benefits made to SNAP beneficiaries.
The bill adjusts the liability rate formula to reduce the state payment error rate based on the percentage of overpayments recouped by the state. Further, the bill increases the multiplier used in the liability rate formula to 25% (from 10%).
Cosponsors (2)
| Name | Party / state |
|---|---|
| Katie Boyd Britt | R AL (original cosponsor) 2025-01-29 |
| Chuck Grassley | R IA (original cosponsor) 2025-01-29 |
Full text & official record
The official bill text, section-by-section summary, amendments, committee reports, and the complete legislative timeline for S. 302 are published by Congress on congress.gov.
Frequently asked questions
What is S. 302?
S. 302 is a Senate bill (S.) introduced in the 119th U.S. Congress, originating in the Senate. Official title: Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act.
Where can I read the full bill text?
The full text, cosponsors, amendments, and legislative status for S. 302 are available on congress.gov.
Bill data: congress.gov API (official congressional records).