Today, our advocacy friends on welfare reform issued this joint statement and we support their hard work on this issue and their continuing fight to role back the assault on poor people.  We are deeply saddened by the Governor’s decision not to veto the photo ID provision in the Supplemental Budget and the legislature’s wrong-headed decision to pursue this policy in the first place.

Looking ahead, we will join with Food SNAP Coalition members as they work more vigorously to monitor access barriers, evaluate the impact on both the on-line and mail in application process, expedited issuance.

And we will work support them in any way we can as they vigilantly monitor and report to USDA any EBT retailers and grocers that engage in selective carding of SNAP recipients or otherwise discriminate against SNAP households. 

July 11, 2013 - Joint Statement on EBT Photo IDs

Massachusetts’ decision to require a photo on EBT cards of cash assistance and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries is a waste of money, will do nothing meaningful to combat fraud, and will make it harder for vulnerable families to access these critical benefits.

We appreciate that our Legislative Leaders do not want to harm low income households and they believe that the photo ID requirement will promote the integrity of the program.  But federal officials have made clear that photo ID is costly and ineffective.  There are better ways to combat fraud—ways that have already reduced SNAP trafficking to less than 1% of benefits. The photo ID initiative wastes precious tax dollars that would be better spent improving program accuracy and efficiency and helping low income families move out of poverty.

Massachusetts Law Reform Institute

Neighbor to Neighbor

Homes for Families

American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

Family Economic Initiative Crittenton Women’s Union Rosie’s Place

Greater Boston Legal Services

National Association of Social Workers, Massachusetts Chapter

Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy