A government shutdown that drags on will require the administration of President Donald Trump to halt food assistance to low-income people, according to two federal judges in the country.
Both of Friday’s decisions, which were made within minutes, concerned the SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s fate.
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One in eight US citizens, or 42 million people, rely on SNAP to provide for their households. On Saturday, that assistance was scheduled to come to an end.
Since Congress was unable to pass a budget bill in September, the Trump administration has argued that neither it can continue to fund the program nor use emergency funds to cover the shortfall.
However, that logic was thrown into question by both of Friday’s rulings.
US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston made the first decision, setting a Monday deadline for the Trump administration to address how, at least partially, SNAP could be funded. She argued that suspending the program completely was “unlawful.”
She also ruled that, as the government has done previously, it was acceptable to use government contingency funds to pay for SNAP.
According to Indira, “Defendants’ suspension of SNAP payments was based on the erroneous conclusion that the Contingency Funds could not be used to ensure the continuation of SNAP payments.”
The defendants are now required to use those contingency funds as required by the SNAP program, according to this court.
The District of Columbia and 25 Democrat-led states filed petitions challenging the federal government’s claim that it had the power to halt the food assistance program entirely.
US District Judge John McConnell’s Rhode Island court rendered the second decision.
Trump’s SNAP benefits suspension there was challenged by a group of cities, nonprofits, and labor organizations. McConnell and his Boston colleague both reached the same conclusions in their responses.
There is no denying that irreparable harm will begin to occur if it hasn’t already occurred in the terror that some people have experienced because of the availability of food and support for their families, according to McConnell during a virtual hearing.
He demanded an update from the administration on Monday and demanded that the government continue funding SNAP.
Never has SNAP been threatened before by the Trump administration.
Both plaintiffs claimed that the Trump administration’s actions appeared to be attempts to use food aid as political leverage.
Additionally, they made a point of mentioning that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) had stated that it would use emergency funds to keep SNAP benefits while the government was in session.
However, the Trump administration changed its tune on October 26 by putting a message on the USDA website.
The message read, “Bottom line, the well has run dry.” There won’t be any benefits effective as of November 1 at this time.
The USDA has “necessary” use of at least $5.25 billion in contingency funds to continue providing benefits, which Congress previously allocated for use when “necessary to carry out program operations.”
The Trump administration has pledged to use the situation to reduce government employment and programs it views unfavorably, despite previous government shutdowns that have caused delays and interruptions to government services.
The shutdown is currently past its 31st day. Republicans and Democrats continue to debate the budget bill’s passage in an effort to keep the federal government open.
Republicans have veered off on the issue until a continuing resolution that keeps federal spending at its current level is passed, while Democrats want to make sure healthcare issues are addressed in the legislation.
On Friday, senior Trump officials vowed to keep their grip on the SNAP contingency funds.
According to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, “contingency funds can only flow when the underlying fund is flowing,” she said to reporters.
Source: Aljazeera
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