No. of Recommendations: 8
Micah @micah_erfan
The White House now claims it’s legally barred from using emergency funds to keep SNAP running.
Journalists discovered that this directly contradicts the USDA’s publicly released shutdown plan (below).
The White House wants to end SNAP and is lying to protect themselves.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP):OMB's General Counsel provided a letter to USDA on May 23, 2025 stating that there is a bona fide need to obligate benefits for October - the first month of the fiscal year - during or prior to the month of September, thereby guaranteeing that benefit funds are available for program operations even in the event of a government shutdown at the beginning of a fiscal year. In addition, Congressional intent is evident that SNAP's operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown. These multi-year contingency funds are also available to fund participant benefits in the event that a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year. To fulfill this Congressional intent, it is necessary that a limited number of FNS employees be excepted from furlough to support program operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, program policy and operations, financial management, and stakeholder communications.
