Press Statement  AG Campbell Issues Statement On Federal Government's Response To Court Order In SNAP Benefits Case

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) responded to a federal court in Rhode Island saying it will only partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits using its SNAP contingency fund, which will fund about 50% of SNAP benefits. The response comes after the federal court in Rhode Island ordered the USDA to use the contingency fund to provide SNAP benefits during the ongoing federal government shutdown, and that if the contingency fund cannot fully fund benefits in November, then the federal government must consider other, additional funding sources. USDA says it will not use other funding sources to provide SNAP benefits in full for November.  

“Never in the history of the SNAP program – including during government shutdowns – has SNAP funding ever been suspended or only partially funded,” said AG Campbell. “While some funding is better than no funding, the federal government has made it clear that they are only willing to do the bare minimum to help our residents, and only after they were required to do so by our lawsuit and the courts. The Trump Administration has the means to fund this program in full, and their decision not to will leave millions of Americans hungry and waiting even longer for relief as government takes the additional steps needed to partially fund this program.” 

The Court’s order and the federal government’s response come after AG Campbell co-led a coalition of 26 states in suing the Trump Administration for suspending SNAP benefits in a manner that is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.