Democratic lawmakers press USDA for answers on sensitive data collection

Democratic lawmakers expressed “deep concern” about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s intent to collect the personal data of tens of millions of federal food assistance recipients and sent Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins detailed questions about the effort in a letter Wednesday.

NPR reported last month that the USDA was taking the unprecedented step of demanding states turn over sensitive data on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients – including their citizenship status, in the case of at least one state.

The Trump administration, led by the Department of Government Efficiency team, has been amassing sensitive data on Americans and residents as a way to bolster immigration enforcement efforts and find potential instances of fraud in federal programs.

In a May 6 letter, a USDA adviser told states the department would be collecting the names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and addresses of SNAP recipients and applicants from the past five years from states’ third-party electronic benefits transfer (EBT) payment processors. The guidance cited President Trump’s March 20 executive order, which calls for the federal government to have “unfettered access” to data from state programs receiving federal funds as part of an effort to root out waste, fraud and abuse.

In their letter, the members of Congress said there are already quality control and anti-fraud measures in place to detect SNAP overpayments that do not require the department collecting such data.

“There is simply no reasonable justification for authorizing such a sweeping collection of information, particularly given the cybersecurity and privacy risks,” reads the letter signed by 35 Democratic members of Congress, led by Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass. and Rep. Angie Craig D-Minn., who is the ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee.

“In addition, USDA’s effort risks irreparably damaging SNAP’s reputation by eroding Americans’ trust in state agencies and EBT processors as good-faith stewards of their personal data, thereby imperiling effective program administration,” the letter reads.

The letter said the Trump administration has been on an “unprecedented quest to collect and consolidate as much personal data from the American people as possible” and has endangered Americans’ privacy and violated “the letter and spirit” of laws like the Privacy Act.

The lawmakers urged the USDA to “immediately cease any data collection” related to the May 6 letter and “disgorge any data” already collected until more information is sent to Congress about the effort, though it is unclear if USDA has collected data yet.

After a federal lawsuit accused the department of not following privacy laws, a USDA official said in a May 30 court filing that data collection had not yet begun. On a copy of the May 6 letter on the USDA website, an advisory now appears stating the department’s Food and Nutrition Service “is clarifying that EBT Processors have been instructed not to effectuate the data transfer outlined in the letter until further notice… that requisite procedural safeguards have been met.”

The letter from members of Congress gives Rollins until June 30 to respond in writing to a series of detailed questions, including which states have agreed to share data, how USDA will store the data, who will have access to the data and whether it will be processed by artificial intelligence.

The letter also asks Rollins about compliance with federal privacy laws and how she will ensure the data is not used for purposes outside the scope of what is allowed under the Food and Nutrition Act.

Have information you want to share with NPR about SNAP, DOGE access to government databases and immigration? Reach out to Jude Joffe-Block through encrypted communication on Signal at JudeJB.10. Please use a nonwork device.