A customer stocks up on produce at an Austin H-E-B on Jan. 13, 2024.Two federal judges ruled Friday that the Trump administration must tap existing funds to keep the SNAP food assistance program running during the government shutdown, according to The Associated Press.
Those rulings came as Gov. Greg Abbott faced mounting pressure to authorize emergency funding for Texas SNAP recipients before the food benefits program pauses Saturday.
The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island said the Trump administration could decide whether to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, sometimes called food stamps, partially or in full. The Trump administration has not yet said whether it will appeal the ruling.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture had announced that it would halt the program, which serves more than 40 million Americans and about 3.5 million Texans, in November due to insufficient funding during the shutdown.
Texans will still face delays on getting their food benefits, Celia Cole of Feeding Texas said in a statement.
“The reality is that, starting tomorrow, SNAP recipients across Texas will face delays in receiving benefits,” the statement said. “Ongoing lawsuits are not a swift solution to this crisis. If contingency funds are released, they represent only partial relief—and the administration has indicated it could take weeks to calculate and distribute them.”
After USDA issues guidance to states, it takes at least three days for SNAP benefits to become available on Lone Star Cards that participants use to purchase food at grocery retailers. These funds become available on a staggered basis, where every day that the money is delayed affects around 126,000 Texans, Cole previously told The Texas Tribune.
The ruling came in response to a challenge from state attorneys general or governors in 25 states plus the District of Columbia, who said the administration was legally obliged to keep SNAP running. It is unclear whether the decision will extend to Texas SNAP enrollees, because the state did not file a complaint.
The Trump administration said it did not have the legal authority to supplement SNAP using an emergency fund with about $5 billion, reversing a prior USDA plan to keep the program running during the shutdown. That plan was subsequently removed from the USDA website. The Democratic states argued that the administration must tap this fund, and it also has access to a separate pool with around $23 billion.
The Boston judge gave the Trump administration until Monday to say whether it will use contingency funds to partially fund SNAP for November or fully fund the program using both emergency and additional funds.
Disclosure: Feeding Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
