"President Donald Trump's administration said Monday that it will partially fund SNAP after a pair of judges' rulings required it to keep the food aid program running. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program starting Nov. 1 because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown. The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation's social safety net."
"It's not clear how much beneficiaries will receive, nor how quickly beneficiaries will see value show up on the debit cards they use to buy groceries. 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. The average monthly benefit is usually about $190 per person."
"Federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ruled separately but similarly Friday, telling the government that it was required to use one fund with about $5 billion to pay for the program, at least in part. The benefits and administration cost over $8 billion per month. The judges gave the government the option to use additional money to fully fund the program and a deadline of Monday to decide."
SNAP payments faced a planned freeze starting Nov. 1 because the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it could not continue funding the program during the federal shutdown. The program serves about one in eight Americans and costs roughly $8 billion per month. Beneficiaries remain uncertain about payment amounts and timing, and card-loading processes can take up to two weeks in some states. Average monthly benefit is about $190 per person. Food banks and many states increased aid, and some states reloaded benefit cards with state funds. Federal judges ordered use of a fund of about $5 billion to pay benefits and allowed the option to use additional money to fully fund the program.
Read at Boston.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]