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The Trump administration is rejecting the idea of using roughly US$5 billion in contingency funds to keep food aid flowing into November amid the government shutdown, according to a Department of Agriculture memo that surfaced on Friday. States temporarily covering the cost of benefits next month will not be reimbursed, the memo says. Democratic lawmakers and various advocacy groups have been calling on the administration to use the contingency fund to provide partial benefits into November through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme, commonly referred to as SNAP. But the two-page document states that “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits”. The prospect of SNAP benefits running out as a result of the shutdown has become a major concern in the states. Lawmakers from both political parties are blaming the other for the hardship that would ensue. The programme helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries. The document states that the contingency fund is reserved for such things as helping individuals in disaster areas. It cited Tropical Storm Melissa, which could become a major hurricane in the coming days, as an example of why it was important to have funds available to mobilise quickly in the event of a disaster. The document was first reported by Axios. The document blames Democrats for the government shutdown that began on October 1, and states that November SNAP benefits would be paid on time “if not for Congressional Democrats blocking government funding”. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday told reporters the administration had the resources to ensure that not a single American would go hungry on November 1. He accused Republicans of “trying to weaponise hunger” and called it unconscionable. In a statement later Friday, he said it would be a “disgusting dereliction of duty” to halt the food assistance. Meanwhile, Democrats in the House and Senate have written to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting that she use the contingency fund to cover the bulk of November benefits. “Choosing not to ensure SNAP benefits reach those in need this November would be a gross dereliction of your responsibilities to the American people,” said a letter sent on Friday by 214 House Democrats. The latest department guidance on the contingency fund appears to contrast in some respects with the department’s 55-page plan for operations in the event of a shutdown. That plan stated that it was evident Congress had intended for SNAP operations to continue since the programme had been provided with multi-year contingency funds to cover state administrative expenses and to pay for participant benefits should a funding lapse occur in the middle of the financial year. The department guidance that surfaced on Friday says the contingency fund is not available to support the current budget year’s benefits because “the appropriations for regular benefits no longer exist”. The shutdown began when a short-term measure to fund the government failed to advance in the Senate. The current impasse is now the second-longest on record. The administration took steps leading up to the shutdown to ensure SNAP benefits were paid in October, with states and lawmakers looking for guidance from the administration for what would happen next month. The SNAP programme is administered by the states. Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia pledged on Thursday to keep food aid flowing to recipients in their states, even if the federal programme were to stall because of the shutdown. Other states have explored using their own funds to prop up the programme, but have run into technical roadblocks. Some states have been telling SNAP recipients to be ready for the benefits to stop. Arkansas, for example, is advising recipients to identify food pantries and other groups that might be able to help and to ask friends and family for aid.
