WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has decided against using approximately $5 billion in emergency funds to extend food aid into November amidst the ongoing government shutdown, according to a Department of Agriculture memo revealed on Friday. The memo indicates that states covering benefit costs temporarily next month will not receive reimbursement.
Democratic lawmakers and numerous advocacy groups have urged the administration to tap into the contingency fund to ensure partial benefits are provided into November through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, widely known as SNAP.
However, the memo clarifies that “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.”
The potential lapse in SNAP benefits due to the shutdown has sparked significant concern across states, with lawmakers from both parties attributing blame to each other for the resulting hardships. This program assists roughly one in every eight Americans in purchasing groceries.
The document explains that the contingency fund is intended for emergencies such as aiding disaster-stricken individuals. It highlights Tropical Storm Melissa, which has the potential to escalate into a major hurricane, as a reason to preserve these funds for rapid response in disaster scenarios. The document, acquired by The Associated Press, was initially reported by Axios.
The memo attributes the government shutdown, which started on October 1, to Democrats, asserting that November SNAP benefits could be disbursed on schedule “if not for Congressional Democrats obstructing government funding.”
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries earlier Friday told reporters the administration has the resources to ensure than not a single American goes hungry on Nov. 1. He accused Republicans of “trying to weaponize hunger” and called it unconscionable. In a statement later Friday he said it would be a “disgusting dereliction of duty” to halt the food assistance.
Meanwhile, Democrats in the House and Senate have written Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting that she use the contingency fund to cover the bulk of November benefits.
“Choosing not to ensure SNAP benefits reach those in need this November would be a gross dereliction of your responsibilities to the American people,” said a letter sent Friday by 214 House Democrats.
The latest department guidance on the contingency fund appears to contrast in some respects with the department’s 55-page plan for operations in the event of a shutdown. That plan stated that it’s evident Congress has intended for SNAP operations to continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds to cover state administrative expenses and to pay for participant benefits should a funding lapse occur in the middle of the fiscal year.
The department guidance that surfaced Friday says the contingency fund is not available to support the current budget year’s benefits because “the appropriations for regular benefits no longer exists.”
The shutdown began when a short-term measure to fund the government failed to advance in the Senate. The current impasse is now the second-longest on record. The administration took steps leading up to the shutdown to ensure SNAP benefits were paid in October, with states and lawmakers looking for guidance from the administration for what would happen next month.
The SNAP program is administered by the states. Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia pledged Thursday to keep food aid flowing to recipients in their states, even if the federal program is stalled because of the shutdown. Other states have explored using their own funds to prop up the program but have run into technical roadblocks.
Some states have been telling SNAP recipients to be ready for the benefits to stop. Arkansas, for example, is advising recipients to identify food pantries and other groups that might be able to help, and to ask friends and family for aid.
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