'True Ebenezer Scrooge stuff:' Final spending bill leaves SNAP beneficiaries open to theft

Congressional budget watchers concerned with food insecurity are lamenting the loss of a provision impacting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the final spending deal Congress passed Saturday, which very narrowly averted a government shutdown. The measure is a continuing resolution that will keep the government funded through mid-March at current levels, and includes funding for a few select priorities, like disaster relief.

The final bill did not extend protections for victims...