Exclusive: USDA says it can't use emergency funds for food stamps
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The Agriculture Department says it can't use contingency funds to pay for food stamps during the government shutdown — and that states won't be reimbursed if they cover the expenses on their own, according to a new memo obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: Starting next month, about 42 million low-income people won't get Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits if Congress doesn't agree to a deal to fund and reopen government.
The big picture: Now in its 24th day, the shutdown threatens to take a real toll not just on federal workers who are going without paychecks, but also many of the nation's neediest citizens.
- The SNAP freeze could kick in as an increasing number of Americans are going hungry and relying on food banks as the economy cools.
- Senate Democrats essentially shut down the government by demanding that the Republicans who control Congress extend Affordable Care Act subsidies. Without the subsidies, health care costs could soar for 22 million Americans on ACA plans.
- Now the shutdown could pit the needs of those 22 million ACA enrollees against those of the 42 million who could go without food assistance starting Nov. 1.
Zoom in: The SNAP program has contingency funds that could cover about two-thirds of the shortfall, according to Democrats and liberal-leaning groups who called Friday morning on the administration to tap it.
- House Democrats accused USDA of "avoiding accountability" and ignoring its own shutdown-funding plan, which was struck from its own website, that indicated emergency funds could be used.
- Now, USDA says there's less money in the fund and, in its one-page memo issued Friday, says it's only for true emergencies "like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, that can come on quickly and without notice."
- "For example, Hurricane Melissa is currently swirling in the Caribbean and could reach Florida," the memo says. "Having funds readily available allows the [USDA] to mobilize quickly in the days and weeks following a disaster."
- "There is no provision or allowance under current law for states to cover the cost of benefits and be reimbursed," the memo also warns.
Between the lines: Friday's guidance from the Agriculture Department is the latest salvo in a string of memos and legal opinions designed to pressure Democrats into approving a "clean CR," or continuing resolution, to fund the government.
- President Trump has used guidance from the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to move money around to pay military expenses and cover a SNAP-related program for 6.7 million people known as WIC, which stands for Women, Infants and Children.
What they're saying: The liberal group Center for American Progress released an analysis Thursday that argued Trump has a legal obligation to continue funding SNAP, and accused him of cruelty.
- "From terminating funding used to purchase food for schools and food banks to passing the largest cuts in SNAP history, the administration has made it clear that its goal is to take food away from hungry families — and that sentiment is extending to the USDA's approach to the shutdown," it wrote.
Friction point: The group said Trump should move money around the budget to pay for SNAP just as he did with WIC, but the USDA OMB said more transfers to WIC will be needed.
- "This administration will not allow Democrats to jeopardize funding for school meals and infant formula in order to prolong their shutdown," the USDA memo said.
