OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Oklahoma is at risk of losing a large portion of its federal SNAP funding. That's according to Oklahoma State Auditor Cindy Byrd.
When the Big Beautiful Bill was passed into law last year, it made substantial reforms to SNAP. One of the changes requires states to keep spending errors at 6% or lower.
WATCH: STATE AUDITOR: Oklahoma SNAP budget could be slashed over misspending
Oklahoma misspent funds by 10%.
This isn't the first time that we've seen issues with SNAP funding. Last year, scammers made millions by stealing SNAP dollars. In October 2024, $3.8 million had to be reimbursed to families.
If Oklahoma does not rein in the overspending by the end of the fiscal year, the Federal Government will slash SNAP funding by $235 million.
That's almost double the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety's budget.
The deadline to reverse the misspending is in October. We asked Byrd if the state could end the misspending by then.
"I am always optimistic, but ask me that question in a week," said Byrd.
Byrd has offered some of her team members to the Department of Human Services, which administers SNAP benefits in Oklahoma.
"In every one of these entitlement programs, my staff and I have released audit reports that talk about eligibility protections not being in place. I think that before we start talking about cutting programs, we just need to start taking care of the programs that we’re entrusted to administer," Byrd said.
But for now, that's just an offer.
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