The Government announced this morning that it will provide just half of the food stamps planned for the month of November, on which the food of 42 million people throughout the United States depends. It will do so using the contingency fund of the assistance program, in the middle of the duration. There are two essential problems with this decision: that 21 million people in poverty or at risk of exclusion are going to be left without basic goods and that the lucky ones who have food stamps they may not see payments right away. Hunger upon hunger in the leading power on the planet.
In total, $4.65 billion will be allocated to this aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fund, which “will be required to cover 50% of the current allocations of eligible households” for this month that has already begun, according to an affidavit from a US Department of Agriculture official presented in federal court. The remaining $600 million in the fund will be used for state administrative expenses and nutritional assistance for Puerto Rico and American Samoa.
The decision comes after a federal judge in Rhode Island last week ordered the government to begin providing full November benefits to recipients or partial benefits if the agency opted to use only the SNAP contingency fund. In court papers filed Monday, the Trump Administration said it decided not to pull $4 billion from other sources of money to provide full benefits for November. His party, the Republicans, was the one that formally rejected tonight an attempt by the Democratic caucus to fully finance the assistance program.
Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley has attempted to unanimously pass a resolution to finance the program during the shutdown, which, at 34 days, is just one more day away from tying the longest in the history of the North American country. In particular, its measure would have forced the Department of Agriculture to finance SNAP for the month of November with 8,000 million dollars (6,948 million euros), according to the news portal. . However, the Republican group has opposed it, calling the initiative “a political maneuver by the Democrats (…) that makes no sense” and “is useless,” according to Senator John Barrasso.
What does it mean?
Nearly 42 million Americans receive food stamps, providing households with just over $350 a month, on average, according to the most recent USDA data from May. The agency’s unprecedented decision to stop benefits has caused panic among many recipients, leading them to overwhelmed food pantries to help feed themselves and their families. Millions of SNAP recipients began losing their benefits on Saturday, and millions more could find themselves in the same situation over the course of the month, depending on when payments are made.
Although the USDA will provide guidance on partial payments to states on Monday, the agency noted that recipients in some states may not see their November benefits for weeks, or even months, Patrick Penn, the USDA official, told the court. Partial payments will require states to reprogram their systems to adjust reduced allocations, which could be difficult.
“Given the variation among state systems, some of which are decades old, it is unclear how many states will complete the changes automated with minimal disruption, versus manual overrides or calculations that could cause payment errors and significant delays,” Penn said.
States paused the process of issuing benefits for November after the USDA sent them a letter on October 10 directing them to do so. The agency said it does not have the funds to pay for November assistance amid the federal government shutdown, which began Oct. 1.
States send SNAP enrollee information to providers each month so they can load funds onto recipients’ benefit cards, often days or weeks before the new month begins. These steps must be completed before SNAP can restart.
Providing full benefits by November would be easier and faster, but Penn said the USDA decided not to tap into a fund meant to finance child nutrition programs to help cover that cost because it would “leave an unprecedented gap” in that funding source, which typically provides free or low-cost meals for school-age children, among other things.
“The USDA has determined that creating a shortfall in Child Nutrition Program funding to finance one month of SNAP benefits is an unacceptable risk… because transferring $4 billion to the US SNAP population simply shifts the problem to millions of low-income American children who receive their meals at school,” he wrote.
That funding source, which consists of unused tariff revenues, currently contains almost $17 billion.
Judicial decisions
In his ruling last week, Judge John McConnell of the federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, gave the administration until 12:00 p.m. Miami time on Monday to say what it plans to do. A second federal judge, in Boston, issued a similar order last week, saying the agency was required to use the SNAP contingency fund to pay at least partial benefits.
Both judges said it was up to the agency’s discretion to decide whether to access other funds to allow it to provide full payments.
The USDA had maintained that it could not draw on its contingency fund, stating in a memo that “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.” In addition, he noted that contingency funds are intended to pay food benefits in the event of natural disasters.
President Trump indicated Friday night that he wants benefits to resume, posting on Truth Social that he instructed administration lawyers to ask the courts how benefits can be legally funded as quickly as possible because the lawyers “do not believe we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain funds we have available.”
“Even if we receive immediate guidance, it will unfortunately be delayed while States distribute the money,” Trump wrote. “If the Court gives us the appropriate legal direction, it will be MY HONOR to provide the funds, just as I did with the payment to the military and law enforcement.”
The Government has chosen to use excess tariff funds to finance other priorities. Last month, the USDA transferred $300 million from that fund to temporarily continue providing Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food assistance to pregnant women, new mothers and young children.
The decision to suspend benefits prompted a group of Democratic attorneys general and governors from 25 states and Washington to file a lawsuit in Boston on Tuesday, and a coalition of cities, nonprofits, unions and small businesses to file the case in Rhode Island on Thursday.
Democracy Forward, which represents the plaintiffs in the Rhode Island case, said Monday that it was dissatisfied with the administration’s decision to make only partial SNAP payments and is “considering all legal options to ensure full payment of the funds.”
“It should not take a court order to force our president to provide the essential nutrition that Congress has made clear must be provided. But if that is what it takes, we will continue to use the courts to protect people’s rights,” Skye Perryman, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Rest assured, we will continue to fight for people to receive the full benefits they are entitled to under SNAP.”
