"The current federal government shutdown will become the longest in history tomorrow if a miracle resolution doesn't appear. But aside from the federal employees who have been furloughed (or worse yet, have been forced to work without pay) since October 1, the most visible consequences began this past weekend, when federal funding for the SNAP (a.k.a. food stamps) program lapsed, potentially affecting the 42 million Americans who rely on this benefit for their daily bread."
"On Friday two different federal district judges (in Massachusetts and in Rhode Island) ordered the administration to tap the emergency fund to at least partially restore SNAP benefits as soon as possible. But both judges made it clear the government has additional resources to fully fund benefits (much like it used tariff revenue to ensure no interruption in military pay) and gave the administration a November 3 deadline to choose a path forward or to appeal the orders."
"The administration said it would provide details to states on Monday on calculating the per-household partial benefit. The process of loading the SNAP cards, which involves steps by state and federal government agencies and vendors, can take up to two weeks in some states. But the USDA warned in a court filing that it could take weeks or even months for states to make all the system changes to send out reduced benefits."
Federal funding lapsed for the SNAP program at the start of the shutdown, potentially affecting 42 million Americans who rely on benefits. The administration asserted it lacked a legal mechanism to replenish lapsed SNAP funds despite a $6 billion congressionally authorized emergency fund for that purpose. Two federal judges ordered the administration to use the emergency fund to at least partially restore benefits and noted the government has other resources to fully fund SNAP, setting a November 3 deadline to act or appeal. The Justice Department declined to appeal but refused to provide full payments, opting for court-ordered partial payments that may take weeks or months to implement.
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