A customer receiving SNAP benefits inserts an EBT card at the checkout counter at a grocery store in Washington, D.C., December 2024. (Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture)
WASHINGTON – As the federal government shutdown extends to its 17th day and congressional leaders far from negotiablegovernment officials are beginning to raise concerns about potential cuts to nutrition assistance benefits that feed millions of people if the government does not reopen.
Minnesota has already done this arrested recent enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And officials in Kansas, New Hampshire AND New Mexico warned that their residents could miss food aid payments for November.
More than 42 million Americans benefit from the program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The federal government funds almost all of the program’s benefits, and the states administer the program.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins warned Thursday that SNAP would run out of funding within two weeks unless Congress reaches an agreement and ends the government shutdown.
“You’re talking about millions of vulnerable, hungry families who won’t have access to these programs because of the shutdown,” she said outside the White House on Thursday.
The USDA could not be reached for comment Friday.
SNAP regional directors were ordered to stop working on benefits in November, according to the USDA October 10 letter obtained by Politico, written by Acting Deputy Program Administrator Ronald Ward.
“Given the operational issues and limitations that exist in automated systems, and in the interest of maintaining maximum flexibility, we are compelled to direct states to retain their November release files and delay submissions to state EBT providers until further notice,” Ward wrote. “This includes ongoing SNAP benefits and daily files.”
The USDA has already done this shuffled over $300 million tariff revenues to the Agency’s Women, Infants and Children’s (WIC) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for the rest of the month.
The shutdown began on October 1 after the congressional failure find a bipartisan path forward in the provisional spending account.
Senate Democrats are calling for negotiations to extend enhanced tax credits that expire at the end of the year for people who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act platform.
Republicans have pushed for the House to pass a version of the stopgap funding bill that does not include insurance premiums.
