Ohio House Passes Bill to Combat SNAP Benefit Fraud with Chip Cards
The Ohio House of Representatives has passed House Bill 163, a bipartisan initiative aimed at preventing fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill proposes the introduction of chip-enabled Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to reduce the theft of SNAP benefits, which are often stolen through skimming devices attached to card-reading machines. Testimony from the Cleveland Food Bank revealed that over $17 million in SNAP benefits were stolen between June 2023 and January 2025. The chip technology is expected to make it more difficult for thieves to access card information. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service will cover half of the implementation costs, with Ohio responsible for $5.3 million. 
