New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with 22 other state attorneys general, has urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take immediate action to ensure the continuation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the ongoing federal government shutdown. In a letter sent to the USDA, the coalition expressed concern that the agency’s recent directive to delay next month’s SNAP benefits could leave millions of Americans without essential food assistance.
Attorney General James stated, “No family should go hungry because of dysfunction in Washington. SNAP benefits are a lifeline for millions of Americans, including children, veterans, and seniors, who rely on this assistance to put food on the table. The USDA has both the funds and the authority to keep these benefits flowing, and I am calling on the agency to act immediately. My office will always stand up for working families and hold the federal government accountable when it fails to meet its most basic obligations.”
SNAP is the largest anti-hunger program in the United States, providing support for low-income households to purchase groceries. More than 42 million Americans rely on SNAP, with children and seniors making up nearly 60 percent of recipients. Over a million veterans also depend on these benefits each year. In New York alone, nearly three million people receive SNAP assistance.
On October 10, the USDA informed states that it would not have enough funds to distribute November SNAP benefits if the shutdown continued, instructing states to delay issuing benefits or sending files to vendors while it considered contingency plans. The attorneys general noted that two weeks after this notification, states had not received further guidance from the USDA.
The coalition highlighted that this pause in benefits is avoidable because Congress has appropriated at least $6 billion in contingency funds specifically for such situations. The USDA has previously acknowledged that these funds can be used during lapses in appropriations but has not clarified how it intends to use them now.
Attorney General James and her colleagues requested that the USDA provide detailed information by October 28 about whether it will use contingency funds to issue at least partial November benefits and explain the legal authority behind its directive for states to delay distributions.
The letter was also signed by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
