American food stamp recipients are once more left wondering when, if, and to what extent they can expect to receive benefits this month as a seesaw legal battle works its way through the courts.
In the latest development late Friday, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Biden appointee, temporarily stayed a lower court’s day-old order requiring the Trump administration to fully fund November payments under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Justice Jackson ruled that the administration can continue to fund the program at a lower level until the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals decides on a Rhode Island district court judge’s order that SNAP must be fully funded. She also noted that the appeals court expects to release its ruling “as quickly as possible.” Once that decision is delivered, the administration will have 48 hours to appeal.
For the 42 million Americans who rely on food stamps to feed their families, any kind of certainty cannot come soon enough. Private sector food banks across the country report being overwhelmed by unprecedented demand since the program was disrupted on November 1 following the record government shutdown. Brian Greene, President and CEO of Houston Food Bank, described the situation in his city as “a rolling disaster.” He told CNBC, “Every day that this keeps going, the damage gets worse and worse.”
The unpredictable legal rulings have also left state governments, which administer SNAP, confused and uncertain about how to proceed. According to the Associated Press, several states had already begun distributing full SNAP payments in response to Thursday’s ruling before Justice Jackson’s intervention.
On Friday, the USDA’s Food and Nutritional Service sent a letter to the directors of its seven regional offices, indicating it would soon “complete the processes necessary to make funds available to support your subsequent transmittal of full issuance files to your [Electronic Benefit Transfer] processor,” according to The Hill.
Last week, the Trump administration agreed to comply with an earlier court order requiring it to tap into an emergency fund to cover roughly half of SNAP’s $8.5 billion to $9 billion monthly costs. In his Thursday ruling in Rhode Island, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ordered the Agriculture Department to tap into a separate fund to cover the balance, suggesting the decision to withhold funding was political. Justice Department attorneys appealed, arguing that depleting that account could shortchange other programs, such as school meals.
On Friday, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals declined to immediately put Judge McConnell’s order on hold, leaving the decision to Justice Jackson, who took action later the same day.
As the legal battle continues, millions of families and state agencies remain in limbo, waiting for clarity on when and how benefits will be distributed.
https://www.nysun.com/article/seesaw-legal-battle-leaves-food-stamp-recipients-waiting-to-learn-whether-they-will-receive-full-benefits-this-month
