US government to stop paying for food aid from November as second-longest shutdown continues

The US government's Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Sunday posted a notice on its website saying federal food aid will not go out on 1 November, raising the stakes for families nationwide as the government shutdown drags on.

The new notice comes after the Trump administration said it would not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP, flowing into November.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA notice says. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”

US government shutdown second-longest on record

The shutdown, which began on 1 October, is now the second-longest on record, and while the Republican administration took steps to ensure SNAP benefits were paid this month, the cutoff would expand the impact of the impasse to a wider swath of Americans—and some of those most in need—unless a political resolution is found in just a few days.

The Trump administration blames Democrats, who say they will not agree to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate with them on extending expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say Democrats must first agree to reopen the government before negotiations.

Democratic lawmakers have written to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting that she use contingency funds to cover the bulk of next month’s benefits.

But a USDA memo that surfaced Friday says “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.” The document says the money is reserved for such things as helping people in disaster areas.

It cited a storm named Melissa, which has strengthened into a major hurricane, as an example of why it’s important to have the money available to mobilise quickly in the event of a disaster.

One in eight Americans relies on SNAP bailouts

The prospect of families not receiving food aid has deeply concerned states run by both parties. One in eight Americans uses SNAP to buy groceries, a major component of many shopping expenditures.

Some states have pledged to keep SNAP benefits flowing even if the federal program halts payments, but there are questions about whether the US government directives may allow that to happen.

According to Friday's USDA memo, states would not be reimbursed for temporarily picking up the cost.

Other states are telling SNAP recipients to be ready for the benefits to stop. Arkansas and Oklahoma, for example, are advising recipients to identify food pantries and other groups that help with food.

According to Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the main issue or problem lies with Republicans and Trump not agreeing to negotiate.

“The reality is, if they sat down to try to negotiate, we could probably come up with something pretty quickly,” Murphy said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We could open up the government on Tuesday or Wednesday, and there wouldn’t be any crisis in the food stamp program.”

Despite the fact that budget disputes are typical in American politics, the current spending dispute that led to the government shutdown is particularly heated since President Donald Trump started cutting the size of the federal government upon assuming office.

Trump has stated that he intends to use the present standoff to make even more cutbacks.