NCJ Number
84252
Date Published
1982
Length
257 pages
Annotation
Officials from the Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Justice (DOJ) testified before a House of Representatives subcommittee on fraud and abuse in the food stamp and other cash supplement programs and their actions to resolve such problems.
Abstract
The chairman's opening statement noted that the committee was interested in the impact of proposed budget reductions on fraud investigations. The chairman of another House committee described its achievements in overseeing the food stamp program and legislative proposals to curb abuse. An assistant attorney general from the DOJ reviewed that agency's 1981 investigations of food stamp fraud in New York City as well as cooperative activities with the USDA, the Postal Service, and the FBI. Problems in the food stamp system and the USDA's corrective measures were highlighted by the administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). He also discussed ways to identify losses from unauthorized issuances. The USDA's inspector general commented that FNS had made good progress in responding to his office's recommendations and commented on the effects of budget cutbacks. Other areas covered included estimated losses through program abuse and fraud, fraud cases handled by the inspector general's office, and an interagency income verification project conducted in Tennessee. A representative from HHS testified on its programs to reduce duplicate check issuance as a result of AFDC checks being lost or stolen. Another HHS official addressed similar problems with Social Security and Supplemental Security Income checks. The final witness was the HHS's inspector general who reviewed investigative auditing procedures and computerized methods to detect fraud. Statements submitted for the record are provided. The appendixes contain a transcript of a television program on food stamp fraud in New York City and reports from the USDA's and HHS's inspector generals.