Aderholt Questions Administrator Rowe on Waste, Fraud and Abuse in the USDA's Food and Nutrition Programs

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Robert Aderholt (AL-04) ), Chairman of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Subcommittee on the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after the Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Audrey Rowe testified before the Subcommittee.

“In FY12 the federal government spent over $106 billion on nutrition assistance programs, that accounts for nearly 80 percent of the total resources in the Ag Appropriations bill,” said Aderholt. “While the USDA’s nutrition assistance programs were designed to provide a vital safety net for those in need, most can agree that given the size of the taxpayer’s investment, these programs certainly deserve their fair share of oversight.”

“The Administration claims to be curbing waste, fraud and abuse in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), however they estimate that more than $800 million in federal food aid is spent fraudulently every year. SNAP also reported $2.7 billion in improper payments in FY11. That’s a staggering amount of taxpayer money that’s being misused in just one of the USDA’s nutrition assistance programs, especially given the current fiscal environment.”

“During the President’s first term, participation and costs of the SNAP program have exploded. In fiscal year 2008, SNAP had over 28 million participants and a $40 billion price tag. Four years later, SNAP had nearly 47 million participants and an over $80 billion price tag. The Subcommittee realizes the economy has certainly been a factor in this increase; however, we cannot deny other federal and state eligibility policies have contributed to this growth.”

“The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, commonly known as WIC, is a program that provides grant money to states, tribal organizations and territories that is struggles with program eligibility requirements and managing its program vendors. For example, there are WIC vendors selling Cheerios at $10 a box, abuse which cost taxpayers $50 million from one state alone. Fortunately, new rules have been implemented to combat this in the future, but it makes me question how many other problems are yet to be found?”

“New rules and food standards for the National School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program are burdening a huge number of school districts across the country. Participation in these programs is down nearly four percent, but costs continue to rise. The Department needs to look seriously at the costs versus the benefits of these new rules so our schools are not literally throwing money away.”

“The goal of this Subcommittee is to ensure the integrity of these nutrition assistance programs and make sure taxpayer dollars are spent as wisely as possible. The numbers speak for themselves, the Food and Nutrition Service at USDA has some serious work to do to be good stewards of taxpayers limited dollars. Claims of eliminating waste, fraud and abuse are well and good, but we need to see real results, not just rhetoric,” concluded Aderholt.

Click here to view Chairman Aderholt’s entire opening statement as prepared for delivery.

Aderholt currently serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies for the powerful House Appropriations Committee, is a member of the Committee’s Commerce, Justice and Science; and Homeland Security Subcommittees, and also serves on the Helsinki Commission.

For more information about Aderholt’s work in Congress visit www.aderholt.house.gov.