General Accounting Office's Overview of the Food Stamp Program

GAO discussed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Stamp Program's integrity and administration. Program errors continue to cause about $1 billion in overpayments to households that have been declared ineligible or that have received more than they are entitled to. Congress made changes in the program to encourage and facilitate program improvement, although some concerns still remain, including: (1) tightening the food stamp sanction system by changing the error-rate target; (2) the need to automate wage matching and provide for better follow-up; (3) efforts to collect food stamp overpayments; (4) monthly reporting by food stamp households; and (5) reducing losses in the physical delivery of program benefits. GAO found that: (1) redefining a separate household as a single household would help reduce program abuse; (2) individualized income deductions would simplify benefit determinations; and (3) providing states with specified amounts of money could enable them to redesign and simplify program procedures to suit particular needs. GAO found that: (1) the program's standardized benefits equaled food costs only where a household's composition matched the model household; (2) an individualized benefit system could better meet the nutritional needs of participating households; and (3) USDA and other agencies should propose consistent requirements for interrelationships with other domestic food assistance programs.