PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SHUTDOWN: Blocking Food Assistance for Hungry Families

President Trump and Republicans in Congress have shut down the government and refuse to issue SNAP benefits for the month of November. This will leave 42 million Americans without money to buy food which will drive up hunger.

THE FACTS: 
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides nutrition assistance for 42 million Americans, including 16 million children (39 percent), 8 million seniors (20 percent), 4 million people with disabilities (10 percent), and 1.2 million veterans (3 percent). 

  • 80 percent of households that receive SNAP benefits include either a child, senior, or person with a disability.
  • Congress specifically sets aside money each year to pay for SNAP in the event of some unforeseen circumstance, like President Trump’s shutdown. These are called contingency funds.
  • There is between $5 and $6 billion available in contingency funds for SNAP as of this week. This is money Congress appropriated on a bipartisan basis specifically for SNAP. It is illegal to withhold this money.
  • The President has no inherent authority to freeze funding that has been enacted into law. This has been true for hundreds of years, remains true today, and is why SNAP funding must get to people in need. (Get the constitutional facts from Supreme Court Justices and the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office here, and a rundown of the real history of the myth of a Presidential impoundment power here.)
  • The contingency funds are sufficient to pay benefits beyond November 1. The Secretary of Agriculture has broad authority to move money around to cover the rest.
  • This is what they have always wanted. The Big Beautiful Bill cuts $186 billion from SNAP, which will diminish or eliminate benefits for 22 million Americans over 10 years.

THE CONTRAST:

  • President Trump and Russ Vought are breaking the law to block SNAP assistance from going out.
  • While President Trump orders a $40 billion bailout for Argentina, American families are left hungry.
  • While President Trump demolishes the White House to build a ballroom to host his billionaire donors, 16 million children will go hungry.
  • While President Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary flies in style with two new luxury private jets, American veterans don’t know where their next meal will come from.
  • While President Trump decides whether or not to make the Justice Department pay him $230 million, 8 million seniors will stare down at empty plates.
  • While President Trump hosts lavish feasts for foreign leaders, food bank lines will stretch down the block.
  • While President Trump cuts golf course deals with Middle East monarchs, American mothers have to ration baby formula
Issues:Budget