🚀 Read this trending post from PBS NewsHour – Politics 📖
📂 Category: Government Shutdown,SNAP benefits
💡 Main takeaway:
BOSTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration asked a federal appeals court on Friday to block a judge’s order distributing full monthly SNAP benefits for November amid the U.S. government shutdown, even as at least some states said they were moving quickly to get money to people.
US District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. had given the Trump administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But the Trump administration has asked the appeals court to suspend any court orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in the emergency fund.
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The court filing came even as Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ spokesman Brett Cudaback said Friday that some SNAP recipients in the state had already received their full payments for November overnight Thursday.
“We have received confirmation that payments have been made, including members who have reported that they can now see their balances,” she said.
The court discussed weeks-long uncertainty over the food program that serves about 1 in 8 Americans, most of them low-income.
The federal court’s order Thursday came in a lawsuit from cities and nonprofits challenging the Trump administration’s decision to cover only 65% of the maximum monthly benefit, a decision that could have left some recipients getting nothing for the month. McConnell was one of two judges who ruled last week that the administration could not skip November benefits entirely because of the federal shutdown.
Read more: “You can’t crowdsource $8 billion.” Here’s what to know about SNAP benefits interruption
Judges in both cases ordered the government to use an emergency reserve fund containing more than $4.6 billion for November’s SNAP payment, but gave it leeway to tap other funds to make the full payments, which cost between $8.5 billion and $9 billion a month.
The administration said Monday it would not use additional funds, saying it was up to Congress to allocate money for the program, and that other funds were needed to support other programs to combat child hunger.
SEE MORE: White House says SNAP benefits will be partially funded as shutdown continues
In its court filing on Friday, the Trump administration claimed that Thursday’s directive to fully fund SNAP benefits conflicts with the U.S. Constitution.
“This unprecedented order makes a mockery of the separation of powers,” the US Department of Justice wrote in its request to the court. “The courts have neither the authority to appropriate funds nor the authority to spend.”
Some states said they were ready to distribute the money as quickly as possible.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it has directed the vendor that services SNAP electronic benefit cards to issue full SNAP benefits shortly after receiving federal funding. Benefits are offered to individuals on different days of the months. Those who typically receive benefits on the third, fifth or seventh of the month should receive their full SNAP benefits within 48 hours of funds becoming available, and others should receive their full benefits on regularly scheduled dates, the department said.
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