Rep. Tim Burchett, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE), has demanded explanations from the governors of New York, California, Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania regarding their refusal to share Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data. The USDA has requested this data from all 50 states due to concerns about fraud within the approximately $100 billion federal program.
The governors who received letters from Burchett are Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.), Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.), Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.), and Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.). The letters request documents and communications related to their states' withholding of data deemed necessary for ensuring the integrity of SNAP.
The USDA notified all states last month about the requirement to share disbursement data. According to Burchett, the 29 states that have complied have already revealed at least $3 billion in potential waste, fraud, and abuse. He stated in his letter to Hochul that non-compliance by states like New York, which has a large SNAP beneficiary population, carries a significant cost to the public and that billions more in potential fraud could be identified if these states cooperated.
A spokesperson for Governor Hochul stated that any allegation of New York unlawfully withholding data is false and that the state takes its oversight of SNAP seriously. The spokesperson added that the state is reviewing the USDA's request and noted a previous federal court ruling that blocked the Trump administration from forcing 22 states, including New York, to provide SNAP recipient data.
The offices of the other four governors did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Burchett's actions precede a DOGE subcommittee hearing scheduled for Thursday, which will examine the SNAP program. He stated that approximately $10 billion in taxpayer funds were lost through SNAP in 2024, and that some states' refusal to provide data hinders efforts to combat fraud. He emphasized the need to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure that assistance is provided only to those who genuinely need it.