House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

In the near future, I intend to introduce legislation that will require authorized users for EBT cards to sign the same rights and responsibilities agreements as those who are eligible for benefits, holding all recipients and authorized users to the same standards of use.

A person eligible for and receiving benefits can designate an authorized representative to use their EBT card. This is often done in cases where the individual who is eligible is a child or is unable to leave their home. Although the individual receiving benefits must sign the rights and responsibilities agreement, the authorized user does not, meaning that the authorized user is not held to the same regulations the recipient is held to for the same funds.

In 2016, an audit of DHS discovered that “the inspector general is precluded from investigating and pursuing criminal charges against authorized representatives because DHS does not require them to review and sign the same information as cardholders.”

Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation.