The U.S. Department of Agriculture had a plan to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program running during a government shutdown by using contingency funds — but the document laying out that plan has now disappeared from the agency’s website.
“Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown,” the plan that was removed, dated Sept. 30, stated.
Those contingency funds are now at the center of a political and legal battle as benefits for approximately 42 million Americans are set to stop on Nov. 1.
In new guidance issued in October, USDA reversed course from its “lapse of funding” plan.
Trending
On Oct. 10, state agencies received a letter warning that if the government shutdown continued, the SNAP program would run out of money at the end of the month. Two weeks later, USDA told states they could not “cover the cost of benefits and be reimbursed,” effectively blocking them from using their own funds to keep the program running.
The letter, first reported by Axios, also notified the states that emergency funds would not be used to cover benefits in November.
“The contingency fund is not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists,” the agency states in the letter.
That back-and-forth has created deep uncertainty for state officials and millions of low-income households. Kyle Ross, an economic policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, told NOTUS that he believes USDA leadership does not consider disbursing funds to be in the department’s best interest.
“And that’s because, I think very clearly, they are using this situation as a point of leverage,” he added.
Frustration over USDA’s mixed messaging has spilled into court. A bipartisan coalition of more than 24 states has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts asking a judge to compel the agency to use contingency funds to keep benefits flowing through November.
In Congress, Democratic lawmakers have demanded that USDA release the contingency funds.
“We have this $5 billion contingency that we can use for these purposes and we’re not.” Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey told reporters on Monday. “This administration is refusing to go forward with it — I think that’s just absolutely reckless and dangerous.”
“There’s every reason to think that emergency funding should be made available,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut added.
While all of this plays out, states including Louisiana, Virginia, and Colorado have tried to distribute funds on their own, but the future of their funding and how long it can last is still uncertain, as the government shutdown approaches the one-month mark.
Author
