Virginia calls state of emergency to expedite food aid in gov’t shutdown

As a three-week-long government shutdown threatens to halt federal benefits, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency to help keep food aid for state residents.

In the absence of any federal funding, Youngkin claimed on Thursday that the decision would allow him to use emergency funds to pay for the food benefits that the states provide.

If the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits expire on November 1, he said, more than 850 000 Virginia residents would experience the effects.

After other states warned food aid recipients this week that their benefits may not be distributed if the shutdown continues, Virginia, the first state to issue one, issued the emergency declaration.

Nearly 7 million people receive assistance from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, while over 41 million Americans receive monthly SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps.

In the midst of the federal government shutdown, California’s governor announced on Wednesday that he would quickly deploy the state’s National Guard and quickly deploy $80 million to help food banks.

The government shutdown is now in its 23rd day, which is the second-longest in history, and there is no set date for it. Republicans and Democrats both hold the other party accountable for the government shutdown. Policy demands relating to healthcare are a major sticking point.

Democrats have objected to any budget legislation that does not include the Affordable Care Act’s extension of COVID-era health insurance subsidies, warning of an increase in consumer prices if they expire, as planned, by the end of the year.

They also called for Republican-led repeal of the government’s Medicaid, a low-income person’s insurance program, that was instituted in July as a result of US President Donald Trump’s massive tax cuts and spending bill.