Congresswoman Nancy Mace filed an amendment to the Farm Bill on Apr. 24 requiring that every Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card display a photo identification and that retailers verify the cardholder’s identity before completing a transaction.
The proposal is based on Mace’s Food Assistance Integrity and Responsibility (FAIR) Act and seeks to add new security measures as part of the reauthorization of federal agriculture and nutrition programs through the 2026 Farm Bill. The goal is to address concerns about fraud in SNAP benefit usage.
“South Carolina families who rely on SNAP should never have to wonder if their benefits are safe,” said Congresswoman Mace. “Taxpayers are tired of watching their hard-earned dollars fund fraud while Washington looks the other way. This ends now. Our amendment requires a photo on every card and mandates identity verification at every transaction. It is common sense: your photo is on the card, and you are the only one who uses it. Plain and simple.” Under current law, there is little identity verification when a SNAP EBT card is used, which can result in unauthorized use or theft of benefits.
More than half a million South Carolinians depend on SNAP for food assistance, with over 4,200 instances of stolen benefits reported in South Carolina during just the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 according to information provided by Mace’s office. The amendment would require photos updated every ten years—or five years for minors—restrict redemption to individuals whose name and photograph appear on each card, allow states flexibility for households with multiple authorized users, protect caregivers through accommodation procedures, mandate retailer inspection at each sale, and set an implementation window of eighteen months after enactment.
Mace has served as U.S. Representative for South Carolina’s 1st district since replacing Joe Cunningham in 2021 according to Wikipedia. She previously represented her community in the South Carolina House from 2018 until 2020 as noted by Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Born in Fort Bragg in 1977, she currently lives in Charleston according to The New York Times and graduated from The Citadel with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1999 as reported by The Citadel.
The amendment aligns with efforts at both state and national levels aimed at reducing waste within federal benefit programs.
