Copyright NBC10 Boston
There will be a hearing Thursday in federal court in Boston after 25 states teamed up to file a lawsuit earlier this week against the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Secretary Brooke Rollins for halting SNAP benefits as part of the ongoing government shutdown, a move that will cut off food aid for over 41 million Americans in November -- including at least a million here in Massachusetts, something that Gov. Maura Healey plans to discuss this morning. The Department of Agriculture has posted on its website that the SNAP benefits will end Friday. “Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the statement read. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by 22 state attorneys general, three governors and Washington, D.C., says the widely used food assistance program was suspended unlawfully. The group alleges that President Donald Trump’s administration has the money to continue the SNAP benefits and is legally required to do so. The contingency fund has roughly $5 billion — enough to pay the benefits for more than half a month, according to the lawsuit, which states that not using that funding would be a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. The full list of plaintiff states is Massachusetts, California, Arizona, Minnesota, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Washington, D.C., was also part of the lawsuit, and the governors of Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania filed suit as well. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who called for the passage of SNAP funding on Wednesday, said the food aid benefits have never stopped during previous government shutdowns and that Trump is “picking politics over the lives of hungry kids.” Republican leaders, in turn, blamed Democrats. The solution, they said, was for Democrats in the Senate to allow for passage of their short-term funding patch that has so far failed 13 times in that chamber. Outside the Massachusetts State House on Tuesday, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said of the lawsuit, "We're confident, based on our legal arguments, that hopefully, the court will side with us to ensure these benefits can continue for our families." About 1 in 8 Americans use SNAP to help buy groceries. Beneficiaries, food banks and states have been scrambling to figure out how to make sure they’ll have access to food even if the program is paused. About 40% of those who rely on the program -- over 16 million -- are children. Another 20% are seniors living on Social Security. The group also includes about 1.2 million veterans, 22,000 active-duty military families, and around 1.5 million college students trying to make it through school. About a third of SNAP households have someone working, but not earning enough to cover rent and groceries. Thursday's court hearing in Boston will take place at the federal courthouse at 11 a.m. Just before that, Healey will join the United Way and Greater Boston Food Bank to discuss the upcoming impacts on Massachusetts families. She'll also highlight ways that Bay State residents can help their neighbor in need. Healey's SNAP press conference at the State House will be at 10:45 a.m., and it will be livestreamed in the video player above. The Associated Press contributed to this report
