SNAP Benefits Won't Go Out on Nov. 1, Administration Says

The Department of Agriculture has announced that SNAP benefits will not be issued on Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown. The message on the department's website blames Senate Democrats for the impasse, NBC News reports. That puts more than 40 million people on track to lose their food stamp benefits this week. "Bottom line, the well has run dry," the post says. The situation:

• Funding: More than 200 Democratic representatives have urged the agency to tap into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program's contingency funds to keep the aid flowing, per the Guardian. The fund has $5 billion to $6 billion in it now, per the Hill. That's not enough to cover the bill for the Nov. 1 benefits, estimated at $8 billion, but could provide partial payments to defray food costs for recipients. An internal memo says that the contingency fund can't be tapped during the shutdown, per Axios, and that states won't be reimbursed if they pick up the tab.

• The help: SNAP benefits, averaging about $187 per month, primarily support working families, seniors, and people with disabilities. Recipients must generally earn less than 130% of the federal poverty line to qualify. For many, the benefits are a crucial supplement to low wages, not a replacement for work.
• The gravity: Advocates warn that the cutoff could bring the greatest hunger crisis in the nation since the Depression, per the Guardian. The Trump administration has already slashed nearly $187 billion from SNAP funding through 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Food banks, which already were struggling to meet the need, are preparing for a jump in demand, per the New York Times. "We will be there to do as much as we can," said the president of the Oregon Food Bank. "And it will not be enough."

• The politics: Republicans say Democrats' push to preserve Affordable Care Act subsidies is holding up a resolution. Democrats counter that GOP claims about benefits for undocumented immigrants are false and insist that the health care subsidies at risk serve many of the same low-income families that rely on SNAP. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said Sunday on CNN that Republicans won't come to the table with his party, per the AP. "The reality is, if they sat down to try to negotiate, we could probably come up with something pretty quickly," Murphy said. "We could open up the government on Tuesday or Wednesday, and there wouldn't be any crisis in the food stamp program."