In Connecticut, how can 15% of households be on food stamps?

Good news: Governor Ned Lamont announced that full November food stamp benefits (SNAP, EBT) have been restored in Connecticut. You can celebrate and carry on, but can you?

The bad news: He achieved this by authorizing the use of Connecticut taxpayer money to cover the federal government’s shortfall. No promises were made to add oversight and combat fraud.

With 42 million Americans now on food stamps, the program’s massive growth and lack of accountability should alarm every taxpayer. The number of recipients have jumped 40% since 2021. In Connecticut, roughly 400,000 people (about 15% of all households) are enrolled.

Blue states, including towns in CT, have promoted the growth of these entitlements by waiving work requirements and by ignoring fraud and abuse. When the Trump Department of Agriculture asked states for data to combat fraud (and prevent illegal immigrants from receiving benefits), Connecticut sued to stop the request. See remarks from Agriculture Secretary Rollins here.

Now that CT taxpayers are picking up some of the tab, this massive fraud and abuse cannot be ignored. Connecticut needs to reverse its policy of fighting federal data requests, aggressively deploy anti-fraud tools (like the new EBT card lock), and provide public reports on the fraud being identified.

Between the Lines: Connecticut taxpayers deserve a transparent, accountable safety net program, not one that constantly demands emergency bailouts while actively fighting oversight.

Story here