June 17, 2024

Wyden, Colleagues Urge Electronic Benefit Transfer Users to Be Included in New Data Privacy Rule

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., alongside Senators John Fetterman, D-Pa.,, Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Tina Smith, D-Minn., today asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to include Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards in a soon-to-be-finalized rule that provides critical protections for users of various financial services. 

When finalized, the rule will implement Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which helps consumers access and share financial data, as well as provide users of financial services like debit and credit cards with strong data privacy protections. In the letter, the senators urged the CFPB to ensure the rule also covers EBT users. These added protections would be critical for SNAP, WIC, and TANF recipients.

“CFPB’s rulemaking seeks to address the fragmented landscape of personal financial data access, but its proposed rule did not provide coverage for EBT accounts,” the senators wrote. “As the primary federal agency tasked with protecting consumers of financial services, the CFPB should work to protect access to financial information, establish standards for data access, and promote the development of standards for secure data exchange for families who receive nutrition and financial assistance. Tens of millions of low-income Americans rely on EBT to receive vital nutrition and financial assistance through federal programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).”

Wyden has worked hard to modernize EBT benefits. In March, Senators Wyden, Fetterman, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced the Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act of 2024, a bipartisan bill to upgrade the security of electronic benefit cards. The bill would protect families from thieves and hackers who have stolen tens of millions of dollars worth of essential food benefits to date. In July of 2023, Wyden and his colleagues introduced the Bridging the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Gap Act, which would expand food benefits for people with medical expenses. In September of 2023, Wyden and his colleagues introduced the Opportunity to Address College Hunger Act, which would increase SNAP accessibility for eligible college students. 

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