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Michigan Democratic Sens. Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin are urging the Trump administration to immediately release Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the ongoing federal shutdown. Peters and Slotkin joined 44 Senate colleagues in penning an Oct. 22 letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. "We were deeply disturbed to hear that the USDA has instructed states to stop processing SNAP benefits for November and were surprised by your recent comments that the program will 'run out of money in two weeks.' In fact, the USDA has several tools available which would enable SNAP benefits to be paid through or close to the end of November," Peters and Slotkin wrote. On Oct. 23, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it was asked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to temporarily pause November food benefits for the roughly 1.4 million Michiganders who rely on them. Nearly 13% of Michigan households receive SNAP benefits, according to state health officials. Michigan officials said the USDA instructed them to hold off on issuing November SNAP benefits and ongoing benefits "until further notice." The average SNAP household in Michigan receives about $335 per month, according to MDHHS, which is roughly $173 per person per month or $5.68 per person a day. "Americans are already struggling with the rising cost of groceries, and they cannot afford a sudden lapse in grocery assistance. We urge you to immediately communicate to states and committees of jurisdiction the USDA's plans to disburse the contingency funding to state agencies and utilize all available legal authorities so that American families can get benefits without interruption. Democrats remain at the table and ready to negotiate reopening the government," the senators wrote. On Tuesday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined 24 other states and the District of Columbia in suing the Trump administration over the suspension of food assistance. "Emergency funding exists for exactly this kind of crisis," Nessel said in a statement. "If the reality of 42 million Americans going hungry, including 1.4 million Michiganders, isn't an emergency, I don't know what is. It is cruel, inhumane, and illegal to hold back emergency reserves while families struggle to put food on the table. I want to be clear: this is a choice the Trump Administration is making, but I will continue doing everything in my power to ensure the federal government does not turn its back on the people it is meant to serve."
