(WHNT) — Looming cuts to SNAP funding have been closely watched in Alabama and across the United States. The Monday announcement that partial funding for the food assistance program will be provided for November has only increased the scrutiny.
Records show 41 million people receive SNAP benefits across the U.S., including 726,000 people in Alabama.
Monday, the Trump Administration said it will use an estimated $6 billion in U.S. Department of Agriculture contingency funds for SNAP benefits in November.
That announcement came after two federal judges Friday ordered the Trump Administration to release contingency funds that had been previously set aside for Congress to ensure SNAP benefits continued to flow. The courts said the Administration was wrong on the law in claiming the funds could not be used amid a government shutdown.
Court records show the program costs about $8 billion per month, including administrative costs.
That means benefits will likely be reduced to recipients in November, and it’s currently not clear when that money will be loaded onto program recipient benefit cards.
News 19 asked the Alabama Department of Human Resources, which administers SNAP here, what happens next?
A DHR spokesman provided the following statement: “We are aware of today’s news regarding this issue, however, the SNAP program is 100% federally controlled, so we are awaiting further guidance from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service with additional details.”
Gov. Kay Ivey’s office responded to a News 19 request, saying they were awaiting federal guidance for how the contingency funds would be released. The Governor’s Office also noted Tuesday is currently expected to mark the first day in Alabama that SNAP recipients will not get food assistance benefits.
In its review of the program, the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts noted SNAP benefits are not all released on the first day of the month; they are generally staggered over the first 20 days of a new month.
U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt said his office is also working to determine how the contingency SNAP funding will be released in Alabama.
Aderholt also criticized Democrats for not agreeing to a spending agreement that would end the government shutdown.
“American families should never be left wondering how they will put food on the table. It’s unacceptable that hardworking parents and children are caught in the middle of this government shutdown,” Aderholt said, adding, “No American should go hungry because of political gamesmanship.”
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt also criticized Democrats for not agreeing to a spending bill that would end the shutdown.
It is not clear if Trump Administration officials will tap other USDA food assistance contingency funds that a Massachusetts federal judge Friday pointed to as also legally available to fund SNAP.
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