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SCOTUS to Decide on SNAP 11/11 06:39
The Supreme Court is expected to rule Tuesday on a request from President
Donald Trump's administration to keep blocking states from providing full SNAP
benefits, arguing the money might be needed elsewhere.
(AP) -- It's up to the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress to decide when full
payments will resume under the SNAP food aid program that helps 1 in 8
Americans buy groceries as the financial pressures mount on families in some
states.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule Tuesday on a request from President
Donald Trump's administration to keep blocking states from providing full
benefits, arguing the money might be needed elsewhere.
The seesawing rulings so far have created a situation where beneficiaries in
some states, including Hawaii and New Jersey, have received their full monthly
allocations and those in others, such as Nebraska and West Virginia, have seen
nothing.
The legal wrangling could be made moot if the U.S. House adopts and Trump
signs legislation to end the federal government shutdown quickly.
SNAP has been the center of an intense fight in court
The Trump administration chose to cut off funding for the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program after October due to the shutdown. That decision
sparked lawsuits and a string of swift and contradictory judicial rulings that
deal with government power -- and impact the food access for 42 million
Americans.
The administration went along with a pair of rulings from Oct. 31 from
judges who said the government must provide at least partial funding for SNAP.
It eventually said that recipients would get up to 65% of their regular
benefits. But it balked last week when one of the judges said that it must fund
the program fully for November, even if itt means digging into funds the
government said need to be maintained in case of emergencies elsewhere.
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to pause that order.
An appeals court said Monday that full funding should resume --- and that
requirement is set to kick in Tuesday night unless the top court takes action
again.
It's also a point in Congressional talks about reopening government
The U.S. Senate on Monday passed legislation to reopen the federal
government with a plan that would include replenishing SNAP funds.
Speaker Mike Johnson told members of the House to return to Washington to
consider the deal a small group of Senate Democrats made with Republicans.
Trump has not said whether he would sign it if it reaches his desk, but told
reporters at the White House on Sunday that it "looks like we're getting close
to the shutdown ending."
If the deal is finalized, it's not clear how quickly SNAP benefits might
start flowing.
Still, the Trump administration said in a filing Monday with the Supreme
Court that it shouldn't be up to the courts. "The answer to this crisis is not
for federal courts to reallocate resources without lawful authority," Solicitor
General D. John Sauer said in the papers. "The only way to end this crisis --
which the Executive is adamant to end -- is for Congress to reopen the
government."
The impact is urgent for beneficiaries
The cascading legal rulings -- plus the varying responses of each state to
the shutoff -- means people who rely on SNAP are in vastly different situations.
Some have all their benefits, some have none. In states including North
Carolina and Texas, beneficiaries have received partial amounts.
In Pennsylvania, full benefits went out to some people on Friday. But Jim
Malliard, 41, of Franklin, said he had not received anything by Monday.
Malliard is a full-time caretaker for his wife, who is blind and had a
series of strokes earlier this year, and his teenage daughter, who suffered
severe medical complications from surgery last year.
That stress has only been compounded by the pause in the $350 a month he
receives in SNAP for himself, his wife and daughter. He has yet to receive any
SNAP payment for November, and he's down to $10 in his account and is relying
on what's left in the pantry -- mostly rice and ramen.
"It's kind of been a lot of late nights, making sure I had everything down
to the penny to make sure I was right," Malliard said. "To say anxiety has been
my issue for the past two weeks is putting it mildly."
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