Advocacy groups say Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins has the authority and some funding to keep paying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits even as she insists Democrats first agree to reopen the government.
In an interview with NewsNation this week, Rollins said that "half the states are shut down on SNAP" and unable to pay benefits but that by Nov. 1, “we are very hopeful this government reopens and we can begin moving that money out.”
The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities released a statement from its president, Sharon Parrott, Thursday the Trump administration's claim it can’t deliver November SNAP benefits during a shutdown “unequivocally false.”
“In fact, the administration is legally required to use contingency reserves — billions of dollars that Congress provided for use when SNAP funding is inadequate that remain available during the shutdown — to fund November benefits for the 1 in 8 Americans who need SNAP to afford their grocery bill,” Parrott said.
Those reserves currently total $6 billion. In an Oct. 20 analysis, CBPP said that after subtracting the $500 million needed each month for state administrative expenses in October and November, “more than $5 billion should remain for SNAP benefits. This is a substantial share of the approximately $8 billion needed for a full month of benefits.”
Asked for a response to Parrott’s comments, a USDA spokesperson said, “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. Continue to hold out for healthcare for illegals or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments.”
Democrats want Republicans to extend tax subsidies for Affordable Care Act premiums and restore funding to Medicaid that was cut in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. People in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for federal healthcare programs, although hospitals have received federal reimbursement for emergency care they are legally required to provide to illegal immigrants.
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On Capitol Hill, senators had different reactions to the impending loss of benefits for millions of people.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., urged Democrats to support his bill to keep SNAP funded through the shutdown. “Do me a favor, ask all the Democrats if they’ll join the bill,” he told reporters Thursday.
Ag Committee Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., said he has not looked at Hawley’s bill. “It has to get consent to go forward. So, there's lots of hurdles before there'll be a vote on that,” he said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump would sign a SNAP funding bill.
“I'm very supportive of trying to ensure that these people don't lose their benefit,” Boozman added. “I don't know exactly how we do that but I think the administration, USDA, is working to see if that's possible.”
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said, “My hope is that the government opens back up. … I think it’s a good possibility.”
Officials in 25 states told Politico that they would be cutting benefits as of Nov. 1, the news outlet reported Thursday.
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service informed state agencies Oct. 10 that “there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the nation.”
Other groups also urged the department to issue benefits.
“USDA has the authority to fully fund SNAP, and we urge them to use it,” Food Research and Action Center spokesperson Jordan Baker said. “There is money in the contingency funding, and they need to identify the rest of the funding, as they have for other priorities. There is no reason November benefits should be delayed or families should go hungry.”
“The USDA has the money and the authority to pay SNAP benefits now,” said Lily Roberts, managing director for Inclusive growth at the Center for American Progress. “Choosing not to act would be both cruel and unlawful.”
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