Gov. Evers Slams Trump Administration for Last-Ditch Effort to Yank Newly Restored FoodShare Funding from Nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites

Governor blasts ‘pathetic’ last-minute plea by the Trump Administration begging the U.S. Supreme Court not to force them to feed hungry kids, families, and seniors
  
As Trump Administration doubles down on its fight to prevent thousands of Wisconsinites from accessing basic food and groceries, Gov. Evers vows to fight administration’s efforts to meddle with November FoodShare payments

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today slammed the Trump Administration for making a last-ditch effort to yank more than $100 million in newly restored FoodShare payments from nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites, including nearly 270,000 kids. The governor today blasted the Trump Administration for making a ‘pathetic’ plea to the U.S. Supreme Court late last night and begging the court not to force them to use readily available federal resources to feed hungry kids, families, and seniors in Wisconsin and across America.

Earlier this week, after a federal court directed the Trump Administration to release full November SNAP payment funding to states due to the program running out of funding on November 1, Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration worked quickly to get payments out to more than 330,000 Wisconsin households that depend on FoodShare for basic food and groceries. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, a total of $104,416,432.13 was issued for 337,137 Wisconsin households on Thursday, November 6. Yesterday, Wisconsin FoodShare recipients spent nearly $10 million ($9.9 million) buying food and groceries.

“It takes a lot of nerve for the Trump Administration to complain about having to pay to feed hungry kids, families, and seniors while they brag about spending hundreds of millions of dollars to renovate a bathroom in marble and demolish the East Wing of the White House for a new ballroom. After a federal court directed the Trump Administration to use available federal resources to restore food assistance payments to millions of Americans, my administration worked hard to process payments and help nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites access basic food and groceries. But now, the Trump Administration is making a last-ditch effort to yank those payments and begging the U.S. Supreme Court not to force them to have to pay to feed Wisconsinites and Americans across the country. It’s pathetic,” said Gov. Evers. “I can’t imagine why the Trump Administration would want to double down on preventing Wisconsinites who are hungry from getting food to eat, and I can’t imagine why congressional Republicans are standing by and doing nothing to stop them or pass a funding measure that ensures folks don’t go hungry or go broke trying to afford healthcare. This is basic stuff, folks. And let me be clear—if the Trump Administration continues to try to mess with the FoodShare payments that were only just restored to people across Wisconsin, we’ll fight against it with every tool and power we have.”

The Trump Administration has had repeated opportunities to comply with several escalating court orders over the last week and a half to release November SNAP payments that will ensure millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites, have immediate access to food and groceries. Yet, to date, President Donald Trump and the Trump Administration have declined to make any obvious or meaningful progress toward complying with any of the different court directives despite repeatedly suggesting to states and the courts that they are working to do so. Rather than simply releasing any and all legally available federal resources to solve this problem, the Trump Administration last night doubled down on its fight against having to feed hungry kids, families, and seniors, now taking its pleas to the U.S. Supreme Court.

About a week ago, a federal court determined the Trump Administration has readily available funding and levers it can—and must—use to continue funding SNAP (also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) during the ongoing federal government shutdown and directed the Trump Administration to release funding to pay partial November SNAP payments to states. After the Trump Administration dragged its feet, complaining the effort was difficult to implement and doing virtually nothing to effectuate the court’s directive, the same federal court on Thursday, November 6, directed the Trump Administration to stop withholding SNAP payments to states and use billions in readily available federal funding to make food assistance payments to millions of Americans, including Wisconsinites. Specifically, the court directed the Trump Administration to issue the full month of November SNAP payments to states by the end of the day yesterday, November 7.

Shortly after the court order, the Trump Administration filed a notice of appeal. However, and importantly, the administration specifically declined to ask for the court directive to be put on hold in the meantime, leaving the Evers Administration to rely upon and act in good faith to process November FoodShare payments based upon the federal court order directing the Trump Administration to release full payments. Accordingly, pursuant to and consistent with the court’s directive, the Evers Administration processed the full month of November Wisconsin FoodShare benefit payments for the nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites, including nearly 270,000 kids, who depend on the program for basic food and groceries. The full month of November FoodShare payments became available and spendable for Wisconsin FoodShare members at midnight on Friday, November 7, with members spending nearly $10 million yesterday alone.

It was not until the following morning, on November 7, and well after the payments to Wisconsin FoodShare members were made and available to be spent, that the Trump Administration decided to file a motion asking an appeals court to pause the federal court’s directive forcing the administration to fully fund November SNAP payments. The Trump Administration yesterday also sent a letter to states indicating, apparently disingenuously, that they were working to fully implement the directive to release full November SNAP payments by the end of the day, only to file an emergency request with the U.S. Supreme Court late last night asking the nation’s highest court to put the directive on hold.

The Evers Administration will continue to closely monitor this situation for any issues that might arise relating to November FoodShare and SNAP payments. At this time, full November FoodShare benefits continue to be available on all QUEST cards.

Gov. Evers continues to encourage Wisconsinites across the state to contact their congressional representatives and urge support for ending the federal government shutdown, extending key programs that help lower healthcare costs, and preventing hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites from going hungry. Wisconsinites can go to www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member and enter their address to find the contact information for their congressional representative and senators. Any Wisconsinite who needs additional food or infant formula for their house or family can reach out to 211 for information and referrals to local services. Anyone can use 211 to get help by:

• Dialing 211 or 877-947-2211.
• Visiting their website at 211wisconsin.communityos.org. Through the website, people can search for services or chat with someone online who can help.
• Texting their ZIP code to 898211.

DHS also encourages Medicaid and FoodShare members to make sure their phone number, email, and mailing address on file are up to date by going to the ACCESS.wi.gov website or the smartphone app. The department will announce some of the changes broadly, as appropriate, using channels like the Medicaid news webpage, FoodShare news webpage, social media, news releases, and email.

Importantly, please note that Wisconsin WIC is currently available. During the federal government shutdown, WIC members can use their WIC benefits, attend WIC appointments, and do not need to take any action. If there are changes to the availability of WIC funding and benefits, DHS will let WIC members, partners, and providers know as soon as possible.

Medicaid and BadgerCare Plus members still have coverage to get the care and services they need. For updates, visit the Medicaid News page.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.