Food stamp benefits for 42 million Americans in jeopardy today amid shutdown
With no deal in place to reopen the government and no action from the administration to make up for a funding shortfall in federal benefits, millions of Americans are at...
By Fox News · Fox News
With no deal in place to reopen the government and no action from the administration to make up for a funding shortfall in federal benefits, millions of Americans are at risk of losing food benefits starting on Saturday. The argument raging in the Senate mirrors the same argument that has so far seen the government shutdown for 32 days. Senate Democrats contend that with the stroke of a pen — like on expiring Obamacare subsidies — President Donald Trump could easily see the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps, funded as the shutdown drags on. SENATE GOP DIVIDED AS MILLIONS RISK LOSING FOOD AID IN SHUTDOWN STANDOFF "We don't want to pit healthcare and food, [Republicans] do," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y., said. "We think you can have both." But congressional Republicans and the administration argue that food stamp benefits, and numerous other government programs, could be fully funded if Schumer and his caucus would unlock the votes to reopen the government. Democrats are suing the Trump administration in part over its refusal to use the SNAP emergency fund, which they contend has about $5 billion, to fund the program. But a recent memo by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) argued there was no legal standing to use the fund and that federal SNAP funds would run dry by Nov. 1 if Democrats did not vote to end the shutdown. A pair of federal judges ruled on Friday that the administration would have to pay out the food stamp benefits for November, either in full or partially. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins affirmed the memo during a Friday press conference, "There is a contingency fund at USDA, but that contingency fund, by the way, doesn't even cover, I think, half of the $9.2 billion that would be required for November SNAP. But it is only allowed to flow if the underlying program is funded." USDA CHIEF WARNS 'WE'RE RIGHT AT THE CLIFF' AS 40 MILLION AMERICANS BRACE FOR FOOD STAMP CUTOFF Nothing ty…