Emmer, House Republicans Demand Walz Provide SNAP Data to USDA

Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Emmer Speaking to Audience
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-06) joined Congressman Brad Finstad (MN-01), Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08), Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach (MN-07), and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15) in sending a letter to Governor Tim Walz demanding that he complies with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) request to provide Minnesota’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data to USDA. The Walz administration’s refusal to follow the request could result in administrative funds being withheld, corrective action, or other enforcement efforts.
“This is yet another example of Governor Walz’s gross negligence. The refusal to comply with this federal request jeopardizes Minnesotans’ access to food,” said Emmer. “400,000 Minnesotans rely on SNAP, but Walz is too preoccupied playing political games to care. House Republicans remain committed to protecting American taxpayers’ dollars. Cutting waste, fraud, and abuse will strengthen SNAP and programs like it for the people who need it most.”
Background
On May 6, 2025, the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service sent a letter to state SNAP agencies requesting application, enrollment, recipient, and transaction data. As of December 1, 2025, 28 states have complied with USDA’s request, while Minnesota and 20 other states have refused to comply.
In the data reviewed from the 28 states that have complied with the request, the USDA found nearly 186,000 deceased recipients still receiving benefits and 355,000 recipients dually enrolled in their own state or multiple states. Other instances of fraud were also identified. From 2021-2023, Minnesota misreported issuance data to the USDA and did not conduct the required security reviews of key eligibility systems. 
In 2024 alone, the state of Minnesota issued nearly $77 million in erroneous SNAP payments.
Instead of complying with the USDA’s request for data, Minnesota has taken legal action to block federal oversight of this federally funded program. 
Read the letter sent to Gov. Walz in its entirety here.
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