Mace calls for photo identification on EBT cards

COLUMBIA, SC  (WOLO) — Congresswoman and candidate for governor Nancy Mace is calling for SNAP benefits’ EBT cards to have photo identification.

In a statement, Mace says she has filed an amendment to the Farm Bill requiring photo identification on every Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card and retailers verify cardholder identity before completing a transaction.

The statement says, “The amendment, based on Rep. Mace’s Food Assistance Integrity and Responsibility (FAIR) Act (LINK), would ensure these commonsense reforms are enacted as part of the broader reauthorization of federal agriculture and nutrition programs through the 2026 Farm Bill.”

“South Carolina families who rely on SNAP should never have to wonder if their benefits are safe,” said Congresswoman Mace. “Taxpayers are tired of watching their hard-earned dollars fund fraud while Washington looks the other way. This ends now. Our amendment requires a photo on every card and mandates identity verification at every transaction. It is common sense: your photo is on the card, and you are the only one who uses it. Plain and simple,” says Mace.

Mace says she believes this would eliminate “card sharing, stolen benefits, and taxpayer dollars flowing to people with no legal right to them.”

Rep. Mace says her amendment would:

• Require a photo ID on every SNAP EBT card, updated every 10 years (every 5 for minors)
• Restrict benefit redemption to the individual whose name and photograph appear on the card
• Allow states to issue additional photo-verified cards for households with multiple authorized users
• Protect caregivers of minors, seniors, and individuals with disabilities with reasonable accommodation procedures
• Require retailers to inspect the photo on every EBT card before completing a SNAP sale
• Take effect 18 months after enactment, with USDA directed to make all conforming regulatory changes within that window

More than half a million South Carolinians rely on SNAP benefits to feed their families.