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it depends on us Supreme Court And Congress To decide when full payments will resume snap Food assistance program that helps 1 in 8 Americans Buy groceries as financial pressure on families is increasing in some states.
The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its verdict on the President’s request on Tuesday donald trumpThe administration will continue to hold off providing full benefits to states, arguing that the money may be needed elsewhere.
Judicial decisions so far have led to a situation where beneficiaries in some states, including Hawaii and New Jersey, have received their entire monthly allotment and beneficiaries in other states, such as Nebraska and West Virginia, have received nothing.
If the U.S. House adopts legislation to quickly end the federal government shutdown and Trump signs it, the legal dispute could be put to rest.
SNAP has been the center of an intense battle in court
The Trump administration decided to cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program after October due to the shutdown. That decision sparked lawsuits and set off a series of rapid and contradictory judicial decisions that concern government power — and impact food access for 42 million Americans.
The administration followed two rulings by judges on October 31 that said the government should provide at least partial funding for SNAP. Ultimately it was said that recipients would receive up to 65% of their regular benefits. But it backtracked last week when one of the judges said it would have to fully fund the program for November, even if it meant digging into funds the government said it needed to maintain in case of emergencies elsewhere.
The US Supreme Court agreed to block that order.
An appeals court said Monday that full funding must resume — and that requirement will begin Tuesday night unless the top court acts again.
It’s also an issue in Congress’ talks about reopening the government
The U.S. Senate on Monday passed legislation to reopen the federal government with a plan that would include replenishing SNAP funds.
Speaker Mike Johnson told House members to return to Washington to consider a compromise struck by a small group of Senate Democrats with Republicans.
Trump has not said whether he would sign it if it reaches his desk, but told reporters at the White House on Sunday that it looks like we are getting closer to the end of the shutdown.
If the deal is finalized, it’s unclear how soon SNAP benefits will start arriving.
Still, the Trump administration said in a Supreme Court filing on Monday that it should not rely on the courts. Solicitor General D. John Sawyer said in newspapers, “The solution to this crisis is not to reallocate resources to the federal courts without legitimate authority.” “The only way to end this crisis – which the executive is adamant to end – is for Congress to reopen the government.”
The impact is vital for beneficiaries
The wide-ranging legal rulings — as well as each state’s varying responses to the shutoffs — mean that people who rely on SNAP are in vastly different situations.
Some have all their benefits, some have none. In states including North Carolina and Texas, beneficiaries have received partial amounts.
Few people in Pennsylvania received full benefits Friday. But Jim Malliard, 41, of Franklin said he had received nothing as of Monday.
Malliard is a full-time caregiver for his wife, who is blind and suffered multiple strokes earlier this year, and his teenage daughter, who suffered serious medical complications from surgery last year.
This stress is only compounded by the interruption of the $350 per month he receives in SNAP for himself, his wife and daughter. She hasn’t received a SNAP payment for November yet, and her account is down $10 and she’s subsisting on what’s left in the pantry — mostly rice and ramen.
“It was quite a late night, I had everything I needed to make sure I was right,” Malliard said. “To say that anxiety has been my problem for the past two weeks is putting it mildly.”