Food Assistance Program: Court Denies Government's Attempt to Stop Full Payment Order
An appeal to stop the full payment of food assistance benefits to over 42 million Americans was once again turned down by a high-ranking court based in Boston. This ruling is the second of its kind, and it defies the government's desire to halt such payments during the ongoing government shutdown.
However, the full execution of this order is temporarily on hold due to a previous verdict by the Supreme Court. This pause gives the government some time to approach the Supreme Court again and request that the order be indefinitely held back while the case is still under appeal.
Threats of Financial Penalties
The latest rejection by the trio of judges from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals occurred shortly after a federal department warned states of monetary penalties. The threat was issued to states that had been providing full benefits since the end of the previous week, urging them to retract those payments.
This decision was reached not long after the Senate barely approved the initial phase of a two-party agreement that could potentially end the government shutdown in a matter of days. Moreover, it could guarantee complete funding for the food assistance program until next fall.
Government Criticized for Inaction
The judges expressed disappointment with the government’s lack of action leading up to the lawsuit. They pointed out that the government had done nothing for nearly a month and was unprepared to make partial payments. Consequently, individuals who depend on the food assistance program received no benefits for over a week into November.
Given these unique circumstances, the judges felt that the lower court had not overstepped its authority by requiring full payment of November's food assistance benefits.
Breaking Precedents
The government set a new precedent on October 24 when it announced it would not make any food assistance payments in November. The reason given was that Congress hadn't set aside funds for the program, or any other government program, past the start of the shutdown on October 1. This was a significant departure from past administrations, which had continued to fully pay out food assistance benefits during other shutdowns.
The government also dismissed the idea of using the remaining $4.6 billion in a backup fund that Congress had specifically designated for the food assistance program.
Legal Action Ensues
In response, a collective of plaintiffs, including nonprofits, local governments, a union, and a food retailer, filed a lawsuit against the government. They sought a legal order that would force the government to use the backup fund and other money reserves to fully fund the food assistance program.
The judge overseeing the case ordered the government to begin making at least partial payments as soon as possible using the backup fund. He also directed the government to investigate other potential sources of funding.
Full Benefits Ordered
Later in the week, the judge ordered the government to pay full benefits. This decision followed the government's announcement that it would only pay partial benefits and would need time to do so. It also noted that it had ruled out using a special pool of funds known as Section 32 funds.
The judge ordered the government to use these Section 32 funds to bridge the gap between the 65% of benefits the government planned to pay using the backup fund and the full value of the benefits. The food assistance program costs approximately $8 billion each month.
In response to this, the government asked the 1st Circuit Court for a temporary hold on the judge's order. The court denied this request. However, they did mention that they were still considering the government’s request for a stay pending the appeal.
Supreme Court Involvement
On Friday evening, a Supreme Court justice, upon a request by the government, temporarily halted the judge's order from taking effect. The justice also urged the 1st Circuit Court to expedite their ruling on the request for a stay pending appeal. This order temporarily delayed any verdict from the 1st Circuit Court from taking effect for 48 hours.
