GAO-04-916 Food Stamp Program: Farm Bill Options Ease Administrative Burden, but Opportunities Exist to Streamline Participant Reporting Rules among Programs

GAO-04-346 Food Stamp Program: Steps Have Been Taken to Increase Participation of Working Families, but Better Tracking of Efforts Is Needed

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Stamp Program is intended to help low-income individuals and families obtain a better diet by supplementing their income with benefits to purchase food. This testimony discusses two issues related to ensuring integrity of the program: (1) improper payments to food stamp participants; and (2) trafficking in food stamp benefits. For the payment error report, the auditor analyzed program quality control data and interviewed program stakeholders, including state and local officials. For the trafficking report, the auditor interviewed agency officials, visited field offices, conducted case file reviews, and analyzed data from the USDA¿s retailer database. Charts and tables.