"The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island gave the administration leeway on whether to fund the program partially or in full for November. The rulings came a day before the U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown. The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation's social safety net - and it costs about $8 billion per month nationally."
"The administration said it wasn't allowed to use a contingency fund with about $5 billion in it for the program, which reversed a USDA plan from before the shutdown that said money would be tapped to keep SNAP running. The Democratic officials argued that not only could that money be used, but it must be. They also said a separate fund with around $23 billion is available for the cause. In Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell ruled from the bench in a case filed by cities and nonprofits that the program must be funded using at least the contingency funds, and he asked for an update on progress by Monday."
Federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ruled that SNAP must continue to be funded using contingency funds during the government shutdown, giving the administration discretion to fund partially or fully for November. The USDA had planned to freeze SNAP payments, citing an inability to keep funding the program. SNAP serves about one in eight Americans and costs about $8 billion per month. Democratic state officials from 25 states and D.C. challenged the pause, arguing a roughly $5 billion contingency fund and a separate roughly $23 billion fund are available and must be used. A Rhode Island judge ordered at least contingency funds be used and demanded a progress update by Monday.
Read at Boston.com
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