Chair Jones, Vice Chair Newman, and Ranking Member Miller,
I stand today in support of HB 163.
I am Deacon Nick Bates, director of the Hunger Network in Ohio an ecumenical ministry that works to end hunger by addressing the root causes of poverty in Ohio. We work with many ecumenical bodies, congregations, and social ministries throughout the state.
HB 163 will be a small investment to stop a criminal scheme that is defrauding hard working Ohioans out of their SNAP benefits. Imagine a grandmother who goes to the store on Monday, uses her SNAP card to buy food for herself and her husband for the week. Nothing fancy, just the basics. But she plans to go back on Friday to get some grapes and strawberries and an extra loaf of bread and peanut butter for her grandkids who will be visiting for the weekend. She is so excited to get some fresh fruit for them to enjoy while sitting out by the lake and playing on the playground together. She walks in on Friday, and is denied the sale because on Monday, a criminal attached a SNAP skimming device to the machine. She didn’t notice it, but now an organized crime ring has stolen her SNAP benefits and not only is her treasured weekend ruined, but now must spend the weekend figuring out how to get food for the following week.
This legislation will invest $10.6 million into updating Ohioans cards and system with more secure chip-enabled SNAP benefits cards that are not subject to skimming. We should weigh this new cost of a more secure system against the costs of inaction. From June of 2023 to June 2024, Ohioans lost nearly $15 million in benefits[1]. I also encourage us to recognize other costs that are born by households and communities. The loss of SNAP benefits puts households into crisis mode – forcing families into food pantry lines and overstretched social service systems. I am hearing more and more often from faith leaders witnessing this theft victimize people within their communities. It forces households to skip other bills – incurring late charges or sacrificing other necessities. It requires ODJFS staff and clients into more paperwork and bureaucracy to close the old account and open a new one. It also takes fruits and vegetables away from families – contributing to issues such as heart disease and diabetes. These costs might not show up immediately on our state balance sheets, but they are costs that we must consider.
“It is better to prevent crime than to punish them. This is the fundamental principle of good legislation.”[2] Criminals are stealing from Ohioans who need it the most. It is economically better and it is morally better for Ohio to prevent crime by investing in more secure SNAP EBT cards. Thank you and I’d be happy to answer any questions.
[1] https://woub.org/2025/01/31/reimbursement-snap-fraud-ended/
[2] https://www.laits.utexas.edu/poltheory/beccaria/delitti/delitti.c41.html