Billions of dollars meant to feed struggling Americans are disappearing, and Congressman Brandon Gill (R-TX) had plenty of questions about it at a congressional hearing this week regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency convened witnesses to examine waste, fraud, and abuse in SNAP, the federal food assistance program used by millions of Americans. What followed was part policy hearing, part heated exchange, with Gill at the center of some of its most memorable moments.
The backdrop was sobering with investigators describing sophisticated card-skimming operations where criminals clone EBT cards and quietly drain recipients' benefits before they even notice.
One witness cited a case where 27 people were registered at a single one-bedroom apartment to collect benefits. A researcher noted that SNAP's improper payment rate reached 10.9 percent last year, amounting to $10.2 billion in questionable spending.
A COVID-era policy still on the books also apparently allows recipients to order groceries through apps like DoorDash and have them delivered to someone in an entirely different state.
Gill's Questioning
Then came Gill's turn to question Gina Plata-Nino, the Director of SNAP Policy and Advocacy at the Food Research and Action Center. He focused first on whether SNAP benefits should be used to purchase sugary sodas. When Plata-Nino deflected, Gill pressed further.
"Do you need data to determine whether drinking soda is healthy?" he asked. "I'm sorry, this is a serious question."
Plata-Nino maintained that hunger was the worst health outcome. "To satiate hunger with Coca-Cola?" Gill responded.
The exchange then shifted to funding. Gill asked whether Plata-Nino's organization received money from retailers and companies that financially benefit from SNAP.
Plata-Nino acknowledged that retailers are the program's major beneficiaries but did not directly answer whether they funded her advocacy work, a moment Gill characterized as a conflict of interest.
The hearing arrives at a significant moment for the program. More than 4.7 million people have lost SNAP benefits since President Trump's tax and spending law took effect last July, roughly 11% of all participants, raising broader questions about the program's direction.
