U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today said a report released by USDA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) found the $45.5 billion in stimulus funds spent to increase monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits have not been evaluated to determine their effectiveness and underscores the need for his bill to restore integrity to the food stamps program.

“The OIG found that the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) cannot determine if stimulus money was doing what it was intended to do, feed hungry families hit hard by the recession,” Roberts said. “As we begin to mark-up a new farm bill, the debate should include reasonable reforms to food stamps and whether this kind of stimulus spending should continue without proper oversight and evaluation.”

The OIG found that methods used by the FNS to assess the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) spending did not adequately evaluate how additional stimulus spending met the goals of assisting those most impacted by the recession, of stabilizing state government nutrition program budgets or stimulating the economy.

Senator Roberts’ bill, S. 458, restores integrity to SNAP and saves the taxpayer $36 billion over ten years while ensuring those in need still receive benefits. Section 10 of the bill ends the temporary increase in monthly SNAP benefits provided by the ARRA. For a bill summary, score and more information on S. 458 go here.

Increased food stamp benefits under the ARRA are set to expire October 31, 2013, but President Obama’s FY 2014 budget calls for the stimulus to continue through March 31, 2014 – an additional $2.2 billion in taxpayer dollars.

Senator Roberts is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry.