The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Monday that it will pay about half of November benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). However, the department warned that benefits could take months to flow to recipients. This update came in a brief submitted to a federal court in Rhode Island.
### Partial Payment Amid Shutdown
The USDA’s four-page report responded to U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr.’s order. The judge instructed President Donald Trump’s administration to pay at least a portion of benefits to the 42 million people who receive SNAP assistance by the end of Wednesday, despite the ongoing government shutdown.
Notably, the USDA’s action did not clarify what would happen if the shutdown continues beyond November.
### Political Backlash
Leading Democrats in Congress sharply criticized the administration’s decision to pay only part of the monthly benefits. They accused President Trump of willfully denying food assistance to needy Americans.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said, “Providing partial benefits is not enough, is not compliant with the law, and it’s particularly cruel of Trump with the Thanksgiving season around the corner.”
### Judge’s Options and USDA’s Choice
On Saturday, Judge McConnell laid out two options for the administration:
– Pay partial benefits by the end of Wednesday using a contingency fund that currently has about $4.65 billion available.
– Pay full month benefits by utilizing other reserve sources, such as funds from the child nutrition program, by the end of Monday.
The USDA chose to use the contingency fund, giving the department until Wednesday to distribute benefits.
### Delays Expected in Benefit Distribution
Patrick A. Penn, USDA’s deputy under secretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services, noted that administrative hurdles in calculating and delivering half-month benefits could delay payments “anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months.”
According to the status report, USDA began the process of resuming payments on Monday to comply with Judge McConnell’s order. The report stated:
> “USDA will fulfill its obligation to expend the full amount of SNAP contingency funds today by generating the table required for States to calculate the benefits available for each eligible household in that State. USDA will therefore have made the necessary funds available and have authorized the States to begin disbursements once the table is issued.”
### Challenges in Processing Payments
While Judge McConnell acknowledged that calculating reduced benefits would take time, giving USDA until Wednesday if choosing the partial funding route, Penn said this timeline was insufficient. Some states have outdated systems for processing benefits, contributing to delays.
The federal government planned to provide updated benefit tables by Monday. States then need to send updated files to vendors who process benefits and load funds onto beneficiaries’ Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards used for groceries.
### A Lengthy Shutdown
Monday marked the 34th day of the federal government shutdown, which began October 1 after Congress failed to approve funding or pass a temporary spending bill. The U.S. Senate was expected to hold another procedural vote to advance the House-passed GOP stopgap bill that would fund the government at fiscal 2025 levels through November 21.
Democrats have opposed this measure to push for negotiations on expiring tax credits for Affordable Care Act marketplace health insurance buyers.
If the shutdown continued past Tuesday, it would tie the longest government shutdown in history, from 2018 to 2019.
### Contingency Fund Dispute
Before October ended, the administration had claimed it was legally barred from using the contingency fund, originally intended for natural disasters and emergencies, to pay SNAP benefits during the shutdown.
However, two federal judges ruled on October 31 that the USDA could and must use the fund to keep SNAP benefits flowing.
Saturday marked the first lapse in benefit payments since SNAP’s inception during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty.
Program advocates and experts warned that users would experience delays in receiving November benefits as the administration worked to restart payments.
### Funding and Spending Breakdown
Interestingly, this stance was a reversal from a USDA shutdown plan issued on September 30, which explicitly called for using the contingency fund to maintain benefits.
SNAP costs the federal government about $9 billion monthly. While USDA did not use the contingency fund to pay regular benefits, it spent approximately $750 million of the original $6 billion during October:
– $450 million for state administrative expenses
– $300 million for block grants to Puerto Rico and American Samoa
For November, USDA planned to spend $450 million on administrative expenses and $150 million for block grants, leaving about $4.65 billion available to pay benefits.
### Child Nutrition Funds Off-Limits
Deputy Under Secretary Penn also explained why USDA chose not to use funds from the child nutrition program to cover the SNAP shortfall, emphasizing the importance of preserving that fund.
> “Child Nutrition Program funds are not a contingency fund for SNAP,” he said. “Using billions of dollars from Child Nutrition for SNAP would leave an unprecedented gap in Child Nutrition funding that Congress has never had to fill with annual appropriations, and USDA cannot predict what Congress will do under these circumstances.”
The child nutrition program supports school meals, summer meals for children, and summer EBT benefits for low-income families. The school lunch program alone serves around 29 million children daily.
### Democratic Response: “Not Acceptable”
Democrats expressed dismay at the partial funding decision.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington state wrote on social media:
> “Just now paying the bare minimum to partially fund SNAP is not enough, and it is not acceptable. Trump should immediately work to fully fund benefits under the law.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking member of the House Appropriations panel, called the situation “entirely avoidable,” accusing Trump of using hungry children, seniors, and veterans as political pawns.
> “Now, only partial benefits will be sent out late, and families will go hungry, while this administration continues to host lavish parties for their billionaire donors and political allies,” DeLauro said.
She urged USDA to “put politics aside and use the money they have available to ensure families do not go hungry.”
### House Speaker Defends Administration
At a press conference Monday, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Trump’s handling of the SNAP payments.
He stated, “The president is desperate for SNAP benefits to flow to the American citizens who desperately rely upon it.”
Johnson echoed arguments by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that the agency was legally constrained from tapping the contingency fund if the underlying fund was suspended.
He blamed congressional Democrats for voting against the stopgap spending bill and noted that two judges who ordered payments to resume—Judge McConnell and Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts—were appointed by Democratic former President Barack Obama.
Judge Talwani ruled Friday that USDA’s pause on SNAP was illegal but gave the administration until Monday to respond before she considers forcing benefits to be paid despite the shutdown.
Johnson acknowledged the complexity of releasing funds:
> “It’s not as easy as hitting go on a computer. You’ve got to go through and recalculate partial payments to the 42 million recipients of the program. That puts a huge burden on states and on the feds to try to figure that out in short order.”
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*Reporters: Jacob Fischler, Shauneen Miranda, Florida Phoenix.*
https://flaglerlive.com/only-reduced-food-stamps-benefits-will-be-issued-and-may-take-months-to-get-to-you/