Democrats Slam Administration for Withholding SNAP Funds: A 'Disgusting Dereliction of Duty' Sparks Outrage

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Leading Democrats in the House sharply criticized the Trump administration on Friday night for its decision to withhold crucial food assistance from millions of low-income Americans, labeling the move as both heartless and unlawful.

“It is a shameful neglect of responsibility for the Trump administration to deliberately deprive 42 million children, seniors, and veterans of food,” stated House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in a formal declaration.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently holds over $5 billion in a contingency reserve designated by Congress to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during emergencies. However, according to multiple reports, the department has announced it will not utilize these funds to provide benefits if the government shutdown persists beyond October 31.

In a memo initially disclosed by Axios, the USDA explained its stance: the contingency funds are intended for genuine emergencies, such as natural disasters. They argue that the ongoing shutdown does not meet this criterion, as they view it as an issue created by Democrats. Consequently, the USDA claims that using these funds for SNAP benefits under the current circumstances would be illegal.

“[T]he contingency fund is a source of funds for contingencies, such as the Disaster SNAP program, which provides food purchasing benefits for individuals in disaster areas, including natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, that can come on quickly and without notice,” the memo reads.

The memo contradicts the shutdown plan posted by USDA earlier in the year, which stated that “Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operation should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown.”

The plan has since been deleted.

The new policy also stipulates that the USDA will not reimburse states that seek to fill the void with their own funding for food aid during the shutdown.

“There is no provision or allowance under current law for States to cover the cost of benefits and be reimbursed,” the memo says.

The reimbursement policy is not controversial. Democrats say any state funding directed to direct benefits would be supplemental to SNAP but not considered formal benefits.

The refusal to tap the contingency fund to pay benefits, however, is another story. And SNAP supporters advocate groups and Democrats, alike have argued for weeks that any effort by the administration to withhold contingency funds would be illegal.

Those accusations only escalated Friday night after the news of the USDA memo surfaced.

In a joint statement, Reps. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, and Angie Craig (Minn.), the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, said the policy is not only a violation of the law, but a “cruel” attack on poor Americans.

“This is perhaps the most cruel and unlawful offense the Trump administration has perpetrated yet freezing funding already enacted into law to feed hungry Americans while he shovels tens of billions of dollars out the door to Argentina and into his ballroom,” the pair said in a statement.

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Democrats Slam Administration for Withholding SNAP Funds: A ‘Disgusting Dereliction of Duty’ Sparks Outrage

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