Despite the benefits, new Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) rules go into effect Saturday will not be released already Without federal funding until November due to government shutdown.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) websiteWhile millions of Americans can review their options and apply, it details how “the well has run dry” to continue releasing program benefits. At the top of the page, the USDA blames Senate Democrats for not releasing the benefits starting Saturday.
“Senate Democrats have now voted 13 times to defund the Food Stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” the page reads. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued on November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to block health care for illegal aliens and gender distortion procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
While SNAP benefits will not be released until funding continues, President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is also in place new restrictions Effective from Saturday. in Change Some people are expected to be kicked out of the program after an estimated $186 billion in federal spending cuts over the next decade.
The biggest change for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) can be seen in the requirement to prove that they work at least 80 hours a month, are receiving an education or are in a training program to remain eligible for SNAP. If they do not have proof, they will receive SNAP benefits for a maximum of three months.
Additionally, any able-bodied adult under the age of 65 must prove that they are working to continue receiving benefits. Parents with dependents under the age of 14 are now exempt from work requirements, whereas previously this applied to parents with dependents under the age of 18. Young adults, veterans and the homeless now must meet work requirements to receive more than three months of benefits.
another change in effect will impact “Noncitizen eligibility for SNAP” for immigrants, which includes noncitizen U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and those who are undocumented.
State agencies must review “domestic circumstances to take appropriate action” during an immigrant’s certification for the benefit period before notifying the person that they are no longer eligible for SNAP. USDA website.
Asylum seekers and survivors of human trafficking, meanwhile, will lose their benefits. memorandum From the Oregon Department of Human Services.
One issue remains whether the USDA will use its contingency funds to allow SNAP benefits to be paid through November. On Friday, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration To chop off SNAP benefits. U.S. District Judge John McConnell rejected the argument that the emergency funds could only be used for people affected by natural disasters.
“SNAP benefits have never been terminated until now,” mcconnell Said at a hearing. “And the United States has actually acknowledged that contingency funds are used appropriately during shutdowns and that happened in 2019.”
About $5.25 billion is reserved to cover the program in November, but that doesn’t fully cover Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ $9.2 billion plan. said The federal government must fund the program.
on friday, Rollins told reporters Democrats were wrong to suggest that the contingency fund could be used.
“If today, say for example, the Democrats say, ‘Oh, no problem, sorry, we’ll reopen the government,’ and SNAP flows, Hurricane Melissa or one of the hurricanes hits, this is the contingency fund that we will use to send more money to vulnerable communities that are harmed by a specific event like a hurricane,” Rollins said.
“But this is a contingency fund whose flow can take place only if the underlying appropriation is approved,” she added. “And listen, even if it did stream, it wouldn’t even cover half the month of November. So here we are again, exactly the same conversation in two weeks.”
Later on Friday, Trump gave a hint That he would fund SNAP, but noted that it would be delayed until November.
“Our government lawyers don’t think we have the legal authority to pay for SNAP with the little money we have available, and now two courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and can’t do,” Trump said.Posted on Truth Social,
He added, “I don’t want Americans to go hungry just because radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and reopen the government.” “Therefore, I have instructed my attorneys to ask the Court to clarify how we can defund SNAP as quickly as legally possible.”
