Three of four bills would target FoodShare abuse
GREEN BAY, WI -- A series of bills targeting welfare fraud in Wisconsin are set to pass the state Assembly on Tuesday.
Three of the four Republican-backed proposals target those who abuse Wisconsin's food stamps program.. or FoodShare.
A fourth bill would take away unemployment benefits for seven years from someone who lies about who they are, or falsifies information, when applying.
One bill would require a photo to be added to all FoodShare debit cards, though requiring participants to present a card with a photo would require a federal waiver.
"It's going to be more difficult for somebody to try to sell their card on the secondary market if it has somebody else's face on that," says Rep. Andre Jacque [(R) - De Pere].
Another bill would give FoodShare recipients up to three replacement cards per year. A fourth request would result in the recipient being informed that they could be subject to an investigation.
Five requests in one year would result in a fraud investigation.
"These are incredibly common sense steps to ensure that we are preventing, and addressing, fraud and abuse within the entitlement program," says Rep. David Steffen [(R) - Green Bay].
Another bill would require the state to seize FoodShare benefits if the account hasn't been accessed in six months. It would also expunge any benefits that are more than a year old if they haven't been used, even if the card is active.
Assemblyman Jacque, who is involved with all four bills, says they would also make it easier for police to investigate illegal FoodShare card sales, saving taxpayer dollars in the process.
"Just here, in Brown County," says Jacque, "we're talking over $1 million each year that's uncovered just with the current level of effort that's put into investigation."
But advocates for the poor say EBT fraud is relatively low in the state, and that the proposals are unnecessary burdens on families who need the services most.
"The reality is, so far this year we haven't done actually anything to help people who are programs, like FoodShare," says Rep. Amanda Stuck [(D) - Appleton].