President Ordered to Ensure SNAP Payments by Federal Judge
A leading judge in Rhode Island has given a directive to the President's Department of Agriculture. The department has been ordered to ensure the complete disbursement of food-stamp payments by the close of business on Monday. If this is not possible, it must make at least partial payments by Wednesday's end.
President's Plea for Clarity
The President recently took to social media to implore the court for guidance on how the Department of Agriculture could legally disburse the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments. The President expressed his unwillingness to let Americans starve and said it would be an honor to fund the SNAP program if given the legal direction to do so.
The judge who issued the order, John J. McConnell Jr., responded positively to the President's post, appreciating his speedy and decisive reaction to the court's order and his commitment to secure SNAP funding.
Arguments against Full Payments
The Department of Agriculture, led by the President, has stated that it neither has the legal authority nor the necessary funds to provide complete benefits for November, given the ongoing partial government shutdown. They argued that even if they could use the SNAP contingency funds, it wouldn't be enough to cover full payments, and it would be too challenging administratively to implement reduced benefits.
Legal and Financial Resources
However, McConnell, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, countered this argument, stating that the administration has enough contingency funds from fiscal years 2024 and 2025 to make at least partial payments. He emphasized that the Congress-approved contingency funds must be utilized now due to the shutdown.
As per related arguments in a separate case in Massachusetts, there is currently $5.25 billion available in the program's contingency fund. However, to ensure November's full benefits, at least $8.5 billion may be needed.
Concerns were raised that using all the remaining funds in the reserve would exhaust resources required to handle potential natural disasters, as happened in 2017 when $6 billion in food-stamp benefits were distributed to affected states and Puerto Rico following the hurricanes.
Full Benefit Payments Mandated
However, McConnell overruled these concerns, stating that the law requires full monthly benefits to be paid whenever feasible, or at least a reduced amount based on the available funds.
McConnell also suggested that the Department of Agriculture could make use of Section 32 funding, which is financed by customs receipts and had more than $23 billion as of early October. Section 32 is primarily used for child nutrition programs, but it also funds other activities, and the Department has the authority to transfer 7% for other uses.
Challenges and Solutions
There are ongoing debates about how to implement these reduced benefits, as it has never been attempted before and would require significant changes to every state's system. However, McConnell ordered the administration to make full benefit payments by Monday's end, using the full contingency fund plus Section 32 or other available resources.
Alternatively, he said, the department must quickly solve the administrative and clerical problems it described to make reduced payments by the close of business on Wednesday.
Separately, a Massachusetts judge has indicated she will likely order benefit payments to be distributed if the Department of Agriculture does not take appropriate action by Monday.