New York State has until February 22, to stop the use of Electronic Benefit Transfer cards at bars, strip clubs and casinos or risk losing $120 million in federal funding.
On Saturday, two Louisiana Walmart stores had their grocery shelves cleaned out by food-stamp recipients whose benefit cards briefly had their spending limits removed. Walmart may end up footing most of the bill because it chose not to implement emergency procedures that would have stopped all purchases at $50.
The New York State Senate has passed the Public Assistance Integrity Act, designed mainly to prevent those who receive public assistance from using their benefits cards to access nonessential items.