"A coalition of more than two dozen Democratic attorneys general and governors are suing the Trump administration over its decision to suspend federal food benefits during the government shutdown. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts Tuesday, comes as the White House continues to blame Democrats for the termination of food benefits for low-income Americans during the government shutdown."
"A new banner atop the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) website published Saturday says "the well has run dry" and that Senate Democrats are responsible for the department's decision not to send out benefits Nov. 1. It's one of several politicized agency messages released during the shutdown in ways that experts say could be a violation of federal ethics laws."
"A USDA memo provided to NPR by the federal agency stated that SNAP contingency funds "are only available to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits." Those contingency funds, which currently total just under $6 billion, are intended by law "for use only in such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out program operations.""
A coalition of more than two dozen Democratic attorneys general and governors filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts challenging the Trump administration’s decision to suspend federal food benefits during the government shutdown. The White House attributes the termination of benefits to Senate Democrats. SNAP provides about one in eight U.S. residents an average of $187 monthly, but approximately $8 billion per month is funded through annual appropriations that lapsed Oct. 1. The USDA posted a banner blaming Senate Democrats for halting benefits and released memos asserting contingency funds are limited to supplementing monthly benefits only when appropriations exist and are insufficient.
Read at www.npr.org
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