BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge in Boston on Thursday will consider a motion that would require the Trump administration to continue funding the SNAP food aid program despite the ongoing government shutdown.
The hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani comes just days before the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, claiming it cannot fund the program amid the shutdown.
SNAP serves approximately one in eight Americans and is a vital component of the nation’s social safety net. Notifications received in October that SNAP would be cut off on Nov. 1 due to the shutdown left states, food banks, and millions of beneficiaries scrambling for solutions.
Attorneys general or governors from 25 states and the District of Columbia are challenging the administration's decision, arguing that there is a legal obligation for the federal government to keep the program running.
The Trump administration has stated it cannot utilize a contingency fund estimated at $5 billion for the program, contradicting earlier USDA announcements that indicated this funding would support SNAP continuity. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs argue that this fund and another separate fund of approximately $23 billion must be leveraged to sustain the program.
The SNAP program incurs costs of about $8 billion each month. Last year, SNAP assisted approximately 41 million individuals, many of whom are families with children. The impacts of the ongoing hearing may take time to effect, especially concerning reloading the debit cards used by beneficiaries to purchase groceries, which can take up to two weeks.
This case's developments could greatly influence the lives of Americans who rely on support from SNAP amidst chaotic economic conditions.
