A new lawsuit filed Tuesday by Democratic state officials seeks emergency funds to help tens of millions of Americans keep them Buying food for their families After federal SNAP funding is expected to dry up on Saturday due to… US government shutdown.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries. Cutting off SNAP benefits would leave a huge hole in the nation’s safety net. Vulnerable families may soon see federal funds dry up for some other programs as well.
Financing for a group of Head Start preschool programs It is scheduled to go out on Saturday.
help for Mothers to care for their newborn babies Through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, it could run out the following week.
Here’s a look at what will happen.
The legal filing filed Tuesday by attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia, as well as three governors, focuses on a federal emergency fund with nearly $5 billion — enough to pay benefits for more than half a month.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Agriculture said in September that its plan to close included using the money to continue operating the SNAP program. But in A Note last weekShe said she could not legally use the money for such a purpose.
Democratic officials maintain that the administration is legally obligated to keep the benefits going as long as they have funding.
The debit cards beneficiaries use as part of the SNAP program to purchase groceries will not be reloaded starting Nov. 1, the agency said.
Nineteen Republican attorneys general, through their own coalition, sent a letter to U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, on Tuesday urging passage of a “clean continuing resolution” to continue funding SNAP benefits.
Most SNAP participants are families with children, more than 1 in 3 include the elderly or someone with a disability, and nearly 2 in 5 households have someone working. Most have incomes that put them below the poverty line, about $32,000 in income for a family of four, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The average monthly benefit is $187 per person.
Beneficiaries say that without aid, they will have to choose between buying food and paying other bills. Food banks are preparing Because of the spike in demand, they will have to deal with the decline in federal aid themselves.
Debit cards are reloaded in slightly different ways in each state. Not everyone gets their benefits on the first day of the month, although many beneficiaries do receive them early in the month.
The states expect retailers to be able to accept cards with balances, even if they have not been renewed.
State governments controlled by Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to help recipients. But many say so You don’t have the technical ability To finance regular interest.
Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia have done so pledge To provide some sort of backup food aid to recipients even during the shutdown of the federal program, though details have not been announced at the state level.
More funding is scheduled to be provided to food banks and food pantries in states including New Hampshire, Minnesota, California, New Mexico, Connecticut and New York.
The USDA advised Friday that states will not be reimbursed for interest funding.
South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster announced Tuesday that the state will open a nonprofit fund typically used in disaster situations to provide grants to food banks. But the fund is empty and will need immediate donations. Last year, it raised $6 million for Hurricane Helen relief. More than $100 million a month in SNAP benefits are handed out in South Carolina.
In Pennsylvania, where a budget impasse has frozen more than $25 million in aid to food banks, Democratic lawmakers are seeking $60 million in emergency aid for food banks and Meals on Wheels programs.
The Trump administration blames Democrats, who say they will not agree to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate with them about it. Extending expiring benefits under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say Democrats must first agree to reopen the government before negotiating.
More than 130 Head Start for preschoolers Programs will not receive their annual federal grants on Nov. 1 if the government remains closed, according to the National Head Start Association.
The centers are scrambling to evaluate how long they can stay open, given that almost all of their funding is federal. The Head Start program provides education and child care to the nation’s neediest preschool children. When the center closes, families may have to miss work or school.
With new grants on hold, six the beginning The programs have already missed the federal payments they expected on Oct. 1, but have remained open with rapidly dwindling reserves or with the help of local governments. All told, more than 65,000 seats in Head Start programs across the country could be affected.
Another food assistance program already supports millions of low-income mothers and young children received an infusion to keep the program open until the end of October, but even that money is set to run out early next month.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children helps more than 6 million low-income mothers, young children, and expectant parents buy staples such as fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk, and infant formula.
The program, known as WIC, was in danger of running out of money in October due to the shutdown. The Trump administration reallocated $300 million to keep the program afloat. But it was only enough for a few weeks.
Now, states say they could run out of WIC money as early as November 8.
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Mathis reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey. Contributors include Jeffrey Collins in West Columbia, South Carolina, and Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska.
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This version corrects the day of the South Carolina governor’s announcement to Tuesday.