Discussion
The #USDA planned to freeze payments to #SNAP starting Nov. 1 because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown. The USDA has a $5 billion contingency fund for the program, but the #Trump admin reversed an earlier agency plan to use that money to keep SNAP running. #Democrats argue that the admin could also use a separate fund of about $23 billion.
The situation leaves millions with uncertainty about how they will feed themselves.
The #Trump admin said Monday that it will *partially* fund #SNAP after 2 judges’ rulings required it to keep the #food #aid program running.
It’s not clear how much beneficiaries will receive, nor how quickly beneficiaries will see value show up on the debit cards they use to buy groceries. The process of loading the cards, which involves steps by state & federal govt agencies & vendors, can take up to 2 wks in some states. The average monthly benefit is usually ~$190/person.
The govt communicated its intentions in a filing with a federal court, which had required an update by Monday. In the filing, the #DOJ said that the admin would “fulfill its obligation to expend” money in an emergency account for #SNAP, so that states could “calculate the benefits available for each eligible household.”
In doing so, the #Trump admin said it would not tap additional funds that might have allowed low-income beneficiaries to receive full payments in November.
The #Trump admin said in a second filing with the court that the money it is provisioning for #SNAP — derived from an emergency reserve — would cover “50% of eligible households’ current allotments,” meaning that many #LowIncome families could once again be in dire straits in a matter of days or weeks.
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