Baldwin Urges Trumps USDA to Immediately Release November SNAP Benefits

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined a group of her colleagues in calling on the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to release the billions of dollars at its disposal to ensure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits continue in November. President Trump and the USDA have the legal authority and ability to fund SNAP in the coming months, but thus far are refusing to do so and cutting off 700,000 Wisconsin families who rely on food assistance from SNAP from getting support come November. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced Wednesday that Wisconsin families on Food Share, Wisconsin’s SNAP program, will feel the impact starting November 1.

“We were deeply disturbed to hear that the USDA has instructed states to stop processing SNAP benefits for November and were surprised by your recent comments that the program will ‘run out of money in two weeks,’” said Baldwin and her colleagues. “In fact, the USDA has several tools available which would enable SNAP benefits to be paid through or close to the end of November.”

“In the event that more resources are needed than what is available in contingency funding, the USDA should explore all legal means to augment funds to pay the full amount of SNAP benefits in November. Americans are already struggling with the rising cost of groceries, and they cannot afford a sudden lapse in grocery assistance. We urge you to immediately communicate to states and committees of jurisdiction the USDA’s plans to disburse the contingency funding to state agencies and utilize all available legal authorities so that American families can get benefits without interruption. Democrats remain at the table and ready to negotiate reopening the government,” the Senators concluded.

In Wisconsin alone, approximately 700,000 people are at risk of losing their food assistance benefits if the USDA does not utilize available funding to continue the program. Additionally, every Wisconsin Republican in Congress voted earlier this year for the largest cut to the SNAP program in history.

The letter is led by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and also co-signed by 42 of their Senate colleagues.

The full text of the lawmakers’ letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary Rollins,

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is our nation’s largest food assistance program, serving 42 million people, including 16 million children, 8 million seniors, and 4 million people with disabilities. Any halt in SNAP funding will have devastating impacts for program beneficiaries, increasing food insecurity and undermining family budgets. Given the critical importance of SNAP benefits, the USDA must take all steps possible to ensure that families do not go hungry.

We were deeply disturbed to hear that the USDA has instructed states to stop processing SNAP benefits for November and were surprised by your recent comments that the program will “run out of money in two weeks.” In fact, the USDA has several tools available which would enable SNAP benefits to be paid through or close to the end of November. First, the USDA must, at a minimum under the law, use the contingency funding that is available for SNAP, as noted by USDA officials. Second, the USDA has interchange authority under 7 U.S.C. 2257 that permits the transfer of funds from other USDA nutrition programs. In fact, this authority was recently used by the USDA when it transferred money from child nutrition programs to the WIC account to maintain WIC benefits during the shutdown. In the event that more resources are needed than what is available in contingency funding, the USDA should explore all legal means to augment funds to pay the full amount of SNAP benefits in November.

Americans are already struggling with the rising cost of groceries, and they cannot afford a sudden lapse in grocery assistance. We urge you to immediately communicate to states and committees of jurisdiction the USDA’s plans to disburse the contingency funding to state agencies and utilize all available legal authorities so that American families can get benefits without interruption. Democrats remain at the table and ready to negotiate reopening the government.

Sincerely,

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.