\n<\/p>\n
Before making headlines for bankrolling fake daycare centers, Minnesota gave food stamps to a millionaire.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Rob Undersander, a retired engineer, told The Daily Wire he was volunteering as a counselor to help elderly Minnesotans register for government benefits in 2016 when he found a major loophole in the state\u2019s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). <\/span><\/p>\n Undersander, a millionaire, discovered he could receive SNAP benefits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey handed out applications to show us how to fill them out for other seniors, and so I filled it out for myself, took it to the Stearns County courthouse, stood in line for a few minutes, and a few days later, I did a phone call with several questions, and three weeks later, I\u2019m getting $278 in food stamp benefits,\u201d he told The Daily Wire. \u201cBeing a conservative, I just felt that was really wrong.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Undersander, who said he donated an equivalent amount of money to charities he got through SNAP benefits, has since testified at multiple state hearings hoping to raise awareness about the lax guardrails on welfare in Minnesota. Those efforts have so far fallen short, as state Democrat lawmakers remain firmly opposed to reforms suggested by Republicans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The reason Undersander was able to qualify for SNAP benefits was because Minnesota, like 43 other states, usually does not perform asset checks on welfare applicants. This policy, called broad-based categorical eligibility, means that millionaires or people with luxury cars can qualify for SNAP.<\/p>\n Thanks to an Obama-era change to welfare administration, \u201canyone receiving small, even noncash \u2018benefits\u2019 from other welfare programs\u201d are automatically eligible for SNAP,\u00a0<\/span>according to a report from the America First Policy Institute. That even includes people who receive welfare brochures or call hotlines to be referred for other welfare benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n At the same time as eligibility expanded, state payment error rates for SNAP have increased. <\/span>In December 2025, America First Policy Institute <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> that one in eight Americans is now on SNAP, and costs for the taxpayer-funded program have increased from $60 billion to $100 billion annually.<\/span><\/p>\n The game changed in July 2025 with the passage of the Big, Beautiful Bill. Under the legislation, states whose error payment rates exceed 6% by 2028 will be on the hook for 5%-15% of SNAP benefit costs. The federal government currently pays for all SNAP benefit costs.\u00a0<\/strong>States across the board will also be required to pay for 75% of administrative costs of the program beginning in October 2026, up from the 50% currently required.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With the pressure increasing for states to cut down on their payment error rates, the America First Policy Institute is working with lawmakers to propose reforms to shut down the broad-based categorical eligibility loophole.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cStates are responsible for administering SNAP, and over time, key guardrails around eligibility, verification, and oversight have weakened in several jurisdictions,\u201d Matthew Schmid, the Farmers First campaign director for the America First Policy Institute, told The Daily Wire.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cRecent federal reforms establish clearer standards and introduce meaningful accountability for how states manage the program, including stronger incentives to reduce improper payments and enforce eligibility requirements,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of the states where proposals have been put forward is Minnesota, where Republican Rep. Pam Altendorf introduced the \u201cStop Welfare for the Wealthy\u201d act earlier this year. The <\/span>proposal<\/span><\/a> would close the broad-based categorical eligibility loophole, but has not made progress in the Democrat-controlled state legislature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Altendorf praised America First Policy Institute for aiding her SNAP reform efforts. She told The Daily Wire she <\/span>started looking into Minnesota\u2019s SNAP program after she noticed her state\u2019s issuance of the benefit increased dramatically between 2020 and 2021. Since then, she has put forth reforms for the SNAP program and worries that her state could lose significant federal funding if they do not reduce its payment error rate, which is nearly 9%.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMinnesotans are generous,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to help people who need it. But I think if you\u2019re a millionaire and you\u2019re qualifying for SNAP, that\u2019s probably an abuse of the system.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She <\/span>cited<\/span><\/a>\u00a0a recent case where a couple was charged with fraudulently taking hundreds of thousands in benefits, including from SNAP, while they spent thousands on luxury shopping and international travel. Prosecutors say the pair recieved other $800,000 in Medical Assistance and SNAP funds while spending over $54,375 at a jewelry store and $7,000 on travel. Prosecutors say the couple and their four children collectively owned 17 cars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has claimed to have taken sufficient steps to combat and prevent fraud, Republicans have said he has not done enough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe guardrails completely came off under the Governor Walz administration,\u201d Altendorf said. \u201cSo that\u2019s what we\u2019re seeing, is people are abusing the welfare system.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Another state where Republican lawmakers have attempted to close down broad SNAP eligibility is New Mexico, which has a 14% payment error rate, one of the worst in the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Senator Crystal Brantley, a Republican who represents a rural part of the state, has pushed to close down broad-based categorical eligibility. She said she represents some of the poorest New Mexicans and wants SNAP benefits to go only to those in need.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One recent case<\/a> in her district involved fentanyl being traded for SNAP benefit cards, according to law enforcement. Investigators said a drug dealer traded 50 fentanyl pills for a SNAP benefit card. The price for drugs is typically higher when SNAP benefit cards are used as currency, Sierra County Sheriff Joshua Baker told one local outlet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe find that to be a common trend, because the inconvenience of having to go and utilize the EBT card, they charge double, sometimes even triple what the going street rate would be in cash,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Brantley said that the case motivated her to introduce legislation to close down loopholes, but her bill has so far received no committee hearings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI would encourage state lawmakers to join me in an effort to address those overpayments, to reduce that error rate, so that the federal government will continue to work with us, to make sure that our most vulnerable population is eligible for the program, but we refuse to fund those who do not qualify,\u201d she told The Daily Wire.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She said that if New Mexico continues to mishandle SNAP dollars, it deserves to lose federal funding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe could lose federal funding, and I have to say as a New Mexican, and rightfully so, because we refuse to address the overpayments,\u201d Brantley told The Daily Wire. \u201cWe have information that has been brought forward, explaining that there are large overpayments of this program, and we are not even taking a single step to address that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She added that the only way she saw New Mexico officials cracking down on SNAP waste was a \u201creal threat\u201d from the federal government to \u201cseriously\u201d cut funding to the state, which is largely dependent on federal dollars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very clear that, as a state, there is not an appetite to make changes and to be better stewards of those dollars,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna have to come as a threat from the federal government to be very serious and actually start clawing back money.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In contrast, Indiana Republicans have moved to close the broad-based categorical eligibility. <\/span>Governor Mike Braun signed legislation<\/a> earlier this year that ended Indiana\u2019s participation in expanded eligibility for SNAP, restricted benefits to American citizens or those in the United States legally, and stipulated that SNAP could not be used to purchase candy or soda.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Braun, a member of the America First Policy Institute Governors\u2019 Council, credited the organization for helping with the legislation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAFPI is building an invaluable infrastructure to support state policymakers that connects the states to federal issues where cooperation is needed, like SNAP reform,\u201d Braun told The Daily Wire.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In Georgia, a bill cracking down on SNAP waste is making its way through the Republican-controlled state legislature. The proposal, from Rep. Martin Momtahan, would close the broad-based eligibility loophole and add increased verification for benefits. The proposal has already passed the House, but still needs to make it through the Senate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Georgia currently has a payment error rate of over 15% and could lose federal funding if the rate is not reduced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Momtahan has said<\/a> the bill \u201censures that SNAP benefits are going to families who truly qualify, while protecting Georgia\u2019s taxpayers from federal penalties.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While states work to clean up administration of the SNAP program, the Trump administration has pushed forward on its reforms and says it has removed over 4 million recipients who were not eligible to receive benefits. The Trump administration has also worked with states to ban the use of SNAP funds for junk food.<\/span><\/p>\n Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who co-founded the America First Policy Institute in 2021, <\/span>recently said<\/span><\/a> in an interview that in one state, there were 14,000 individuals receiving SNAP benefits driving luxury vehicles.<\/span><\/p>\n Researchers with the institute told The Daily Wire they expect to continue working with state lawmakers across the country to reduce SNAP waste.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are activating our state chapters and working directly with governors, legislators, and local partners to advance policies that strengthen oversight and close gaps in SNAP,\u201d Ashley Hayek, the organization\u2019s executive vice president, told The Daily Wire. \u201cIt is a hands-on approach that takes the Administration\u2019s momentum and turns it into policy changes where the program is run.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n