Texas SNAP funding loss threatened by accuracy concerns

TYLER, Texas (KETK)– Under the “One Big, Beautiful Bill”, Texas would lose millions of dollars in federal funding for snap program in 2027 if they don’t meet new federal standards for payment accuracy.

Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, explains what requirements Texas still needs to meet.

There’s a lot of pressure in Texas right now to improve payment accuracy. We have a 91 percent accuracy rate. And so, we need to get that up a couple of points to 94% accuracy,” Cole said.
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Cole said a payment error occurs when a state worker makes an eligibility determination error. This is what determines Texas’s accuracy score. And fraud is defined as intentionally violating the rules.

“It will result in significant reductions in benefits and eligibility. Texas could walk away from the program and say, we don’t want to pay our share,” Cole said.

Twisted V Market, a South Tyler business that accepts SNAP, says fraud isn’t an issue and uses ‘Total Pay’ as a verification tool at checkout.

“The app has all of the security to make sure we don’t experience scams,” Lindsey Haddock, at Twisted V, said. “Also, they each have their own individual username and pin. That way, people can’t go on here and steal shoppers’ information.”

East Texas congressman Pete Sessions will lead the next congressional hearing concerning fraud in federally funded programs and it will take place on April 15 in D.C.