The US Department of Agriculture says it is not going to faucet into its $6 billion contingency fund to cowl food stamp benefits subsequent month, in accordance to an company memo obtained by NCS. That implies that roughly 42 million Americans will not receive critical food assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in November, until the company shifts its place.
“Contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits,” the memo reads. “SNAP contingency funds are only available to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits. The contingency fund is not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists.”
Also, states is not going to be reimbursed in the event that they use their very own funds to pay for benefits, in accordance to the memo, which was reported earlier by Axios.
The lack of the vital security internet program ramps up strain on Congress to finish the federal government shutdown, which started on October 1, by agreeing to a federal spending bundle. Democrats have stated they won’t help a short-term spending invoice until it consists of an extension of the improved Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Republican lawmakers and officers have blamed the Democrats for the deadlock, saying they’re harming Americans. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins final week advised reporters that food stamps will run dry by the tip of the month.
The company advised states earlier this month that there’s not sufficient cash to pay full food stamp benefits in November if the lapse in federal funding continues and requested them to maintain off on subsequent month’s funds till additional discover.
However, Democratic lawmakers and SNAP advocates argue that USDA is obligated to use the contingency fund to pay November benefits, that are estimated to value about $8 billion. And they’re urging the company to faucet into different pots of cash to cowl the distinction, because the administration has performed for its priorities like paying troops.
“Secretary Rollins’ claim that the Trump Administration is unable to deliver November SNAP benefits during a shutdown is unequivocally false,” Sharon Parrott, president of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a former Office of Management and Budget official, stated in a press release Thursday. “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.”
In its shutdown contingency plan, which has been since taken offline, the company famous that “Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue” and referenced that the contingency plan can be utilized to fund participant benefits if a lapse happens in the midst of the fiscal yr.
About one in eight Americans obtain assist shopping for food via SNAP. A key pillar of the nation’s security internet, this system gives enrollees with a median month-to-month advantage of $188 per particular person, as of May.
The food stamp program is the second diet help lifeline prone to operating out of cash amid the continued standoff on Capitol Hill.
WIC, which gives food support to almost 7 million pregnant girls, new mothers and younger kids, was heading in the right direction to deplete its funding earlier this month. But the Trump administration shifted $300 million in tariff revenue that’s usually used to fund baby diet applications to hold WIC working. The infusion ought to be sufficient to cowl benefits for the remainder of the month, in accordance to the National WIC Association.
This will not be the primary time that food stamps have been in danger throughout a shutdown. During the record-long deadlock that started in December 2018, the USDA initially stated benefits would run dry on the finish of January. But the company then stated it might use a provision permitting it to make obligated funds inside 30 days of a authorities funding lapse to cover February payments. That workaround in the end wasn’t wanted because the shutdown led to late January.