A federal judge today ordered the administration of US President Donald Trump to keep the SNAP program in placewhich helps low-income households buy food, was set to end Saturday because of the federal government’s budget shutdown.
The Ministry of Agriculture is called upon to use emergency resources to ensure that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programwhich benefits more than 42 million American citizens. The government claimed that the program was no longer funded because of the shutdown.
Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island, appealed by municipalities, nonprofits and a union, ruled that the suspension of SNAP (formerly known as “food stamps”) is illegal.
The Ministry of Agriculture claimed that it does not have sufficient resources to continue the program which costs 8.5-9 billion dollars a month. The administration also says the department is not authorized to pay those amounts until Congress passes a budget and the shutdown that began on Oct. 1 ends.
The plaintiffs, however, noted that the department still has resources to meet its obligations, such as the $5.25 billion emergency fund previously authorized by Congress to be used when deemed “necessary to operate the program.” A separate $23 billion fund could also be used to avoid an unprecedented cut in SNAP benefits.
Source :Skai
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