SNAP and WIC Funding issues under shutdown - UPDATES
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Karen Kierpaul
Oct 17, 2025, 12:19:20 PM (12 days ago) Oct 17
to macombresources
SNAP Benefits may end in 2-weeks due to shutdown of funding.
The SNAP program served 41.7 million people a month in fiscal 2024,
amounting to 12.3 percent of U.S. residents, according to the USDA.
Benefits averaged $187.20 per participant per month at the time
SOURCE: https://rollcall.com/2025/10/16/usdas-rollins-says-food-stamp-funding-to-dry-up-in-two-weeks/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20Daily%20Health%20Policy%20Report&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8k7Bd-Rq7xjKcSPb_oREMXFXsGgyP3Sp2WtYCb99GHoSzR_A-ilvJYWCF0rD3v9QKjfUW01Abj9H4SlyIlL3eKBu4h8A&_hsmi=385625858&utm_content=385625858&utm_source=hs_email
Following information from the Department of Agriculture for the WIC
and SNAP, programs, Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins and Senate
Agriculture Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark, and Senate Agriculture
Appropriations Chairman John Hoeven, R-N.D.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Thursday that the food stamp
program will run out of funds in two weeks because of the partial
government shutdown, potentially leaving nearly 42 million people
without monthly benefits.
“We’re going to run out of money in two weeks. So you’re talking about
millions and millions of vulnerable families, of hungry families, that
are not going to have access to these programs because of this
shutdown,” Rollins said.
The Agriculture Department later in the day released an Oct. 10 letter
to regional SNAP directors directing them to stop work on November
benefits.
“Considering the operational issues and constraints that exist in
automated systems, and in the interest of preserving maximum
flexibility, we are forced to direct States to hold their November
issuance files and delay transmission to State EBT [electronic benefit
transfer] vendors until further notice. This includes on-going SNAP
benefits and daily files,” the letter said.
The Agriculture Department has limited options to find another source
of money for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known
as food stamps, after the GOP budget reconciliation law earlier this
year drained the Commodity Credit Corporation, a possible funding
option.
The USDA might be able to tap tariff revenue for the purpose but the
Trump administration has also said it would use tariff revenue for a
separate nutrition program for women and young children and to
compensate farmers for lost exports.
“Through October and after that, you know, it may be a problem after
that,” said Senate Agriculture Appropriations Chairman John Hoeven,
R-N.D., about SNAP benefits after hearing from USDA officials.
Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., said the USDA has
few options to fund SNAP through the shutdown, including temporarily
punting the responsibility to states.
“There was talk early on of the states actually doing it and being
reimbursed. So there’s all kinds of things being floated around, but I
don’t have any idea exactly what we’re thinking about,” Boozman said.
The USDA could use its Section 32 authority to fund SNAP, he said. The
Section 32 account, funded from customs receipts, sends the majority -
$23 billion in fiscal 2024 - of its money to the USDA’s Food and
Nutrition Service and childhood nutrition programs, the Congressional
Research Service said in an August report.
CRS said the account is estimated to have $25.2 billion in permanent
appropriations in fiscal 2026, up from the estimated $24.4 billion in
fiscal 2025.
But Boozman said that may not be enough to fund SNAP because the
department is eyeing the same money to fund the Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
“I assume they could use it for SNAP, if they could use it for WIC,”
Boozman said. “But that’s the problem is you’ve got all of these
different entities that need money.”
“Is there enough money to come from an individual pot, or is it going
to be lots of different things?” he said.
A USDA spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday that the department
will “utilize tariff revenue to fund WIC for the foreseeable future.”
One alternative to the Section 32 account could be the CCC, but the
Congressional Budget Office said in a report this summer that the
reconciliation law drained the CCC to boost spending on farm programs.
Hoeven said in early October that the CCC would also be at least
partly a source of funding to compensate farmers who are being hit by
the sharp drop in exports, particularly to China, as Beijing
retaliates for Trump’s tariffs on imports
The USDA was able to distribute SNAP benefits during the previous
shutdown in 2018 and 2019, but only because the shutdown ended before
it lost its authority, according to the nonpartisan, nonprofit
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Rollins also said Thursday that New York had stopped taking enrollees
in the program. “Today, I think New York announced that they can’t
continue taking new enrollees because of the government shutdown,” she
said.
But Anthony Farmer, the director of public information for the state’s
Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, said that New York is
continuing to accept new applications.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul acknowledged in a press release Thursday
that New Yorkers who rely on SNAP could lose their benefits on Nov. 1
due to the shutdown. She said the Trump administration is directing
states to stop the process to issue the benefits.
The SNAP program served 41.7 million people a month in fiscal 2024,
amounting to 12.3 percent of U.S. residents, according to the USDA.
Benefits averaged $187.20 per participant per month at the time
SOURCE: https://rollcall.com/2025/10/16/usdas-rollins-says-food-stamp-funding-to-dry-up-in-two-weeks/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20Daily%20Health%20Policy%20Report&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8k7Bd-Rq7xjKcSPb_oREMXFXsGgyP3Sp2WtYCb99GHoSzR_A-ilvJYWCF0rD3v9QKjfUW01Abj9H4SlyIlL3eKBu4h8A&_hsmi=385625858&utm_content=385625858&utm_source=hs_email
Following information from the Department of Agriculture for the WIC
and SNAP, programs, Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins and Senate
Agriculture Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark, and Senate Agriculture
Appropriations Chairman John Hoeven, R-N.D.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Thursday that the food stamp
program will run out of funds in two weeks because of the partial
government shutdown, potentially leaving nearly 42 million people
without monthly benefits.
“We’re going to run out of money in two weeks. So you’re talking about
millions and millions of vulnerable families, of hungry families, that
are not going to have access to these programs because of this
shutdown,” Rollins said.
The Agriculture Department later in the day released an Oct. 10 letter
to regional SNAP directors directing them to stop work on November
benefits.
“Considering the operational issues and constraints that exist in
automated systems, and in the interest of preserving maximum
flexibility, we are forced to direct States to hold their November
issuance files and delay transmission to State EBT [electronic benefit
transfer] vendors until further notice. This includes on-going SNAP
benefits and daily files,” the letter said.
The Agriculture Department has limited options to find another source
of money for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known
as food stamps, after the GOP budget reconciliation law earlier this
year drained the Commodity Credit Corporation, a possible funding
option.
The USDA might be able to tap tariff revenue for the purpose but the
Trump administration has also said it would use tariff revenue for a
separate nutrition program for women and young children and to
compensate farmers for lost exports.
“Through October and after that, you know, it may be a problem after
that,” said Senate Agriculture Appropriations Chairman John Hoeven,
R-N.D., about SNAP benefits after hearing from USDA officials.
Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., said the USDA has
few options to fund SNAP through the shutdown, including temporarily
punting the responsibility to states.
“There was talk early on of the states actually doing it and being
reimbursed. So there’s all kinds of things being floated around, but I
don’t have any idea exactly what we’re thinking about,” Boozman said.
The USDA could use its Section 32 authority to fund SNAP, he said. The
Section 32 account, funded from customs receipts, sends the majority -
$23 billion in fiscal 2024 - of its money to the USDA’s Food and
Nutrition Service and childhood nutrition programs, the Congressional
Research Service said in an August report.
CRS said the account is estimated to have $25.2 billion in permanent
appropriations in fiscal 2026, up from the estimated $24.4 billion in
fiscal 2025.
But Boozman said that may not be enough to fund SNAP because the
department is eyeing the same money to fund the Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
“I assume they could use it for SNAP, if they could use it for WIC,”
Boozman said. “But that’s the problem is you’ve got all of these
different entities that need money.”
“Is there enough money to come from an individual pot, or is it going
to be lots of different things?” he said.
A USDA spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday that the department
will “utilize tariff revenue to fund WIC for the foreseeable future.”
One alternative to the Section 32 account could be the CCC, but the
Congressional Budget Office said in a report this summer that the
reconciliation law drained the CCC to boost spending on farm programs.
Hoeven said in early October that the CCC would also be at least
partly a source of funding to compensate farmers who are being hit by
the sharp drop in exports, particularly to China, as Beijing
retaliates for Trump’s tariffs on imports
The USDA was able to distribute SNAP benefits during the previous
shutdown in 2018 and 2019, but only because the shutdown ended before
it lost its authority, according to the nonpartisan, nonprofit
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Rollins also said Thursday that New York had stopped taking enrollees
in the program. “Today, I think New York announced that they can’t
continue taking new enrollees because of the government shutdown,” she
said.
But Anthony Farmer, the director of public information for the state’s
Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, said that New York is
continuing to accept new applications.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul acknowledged in a press release Thursday
that New Yorkers who rely on SNAP could lose their benefits on Nov. 1
due to the shutdown. She said the Trump administration is directing
states to stop the process to issue the benefits.
Karen Kierpaul
Oct 17, 2025, 2:42:01 PM (12 days ago) Oct 17
to Annette Heilman, macombresources
https://kffhealthnews.org/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20Daily%20Health%20Policy%20Report&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_CJ1YawJS1Q8bp8OliwvdG8RhJ92npR94y8CcA9x8IHD1gkBXWxsNGTAWNSGHgQqlFa1nNDlJDUzjSXHT0ga7jn4ohyg&_hsmi=385625858&utm_content=385625858&utm_source=hs_email
On Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 12:45 PM Annette Heilman
<ahepa371...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> This is not good :( Thank you for sharing!! Where can I receive further updates as this unravels?
>> --
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>
>
>
> --
> Thank you,
>
> Annette Heilman, LLBSW
> Service Coordinator, Phase 2
> AHEPA 371 Apartments
> 26800 Crocker Blvd.
> Harrison Twp. MI 48045
> 586-468-4751
On Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 12:45 PM Annette Heilman
<ahepa371...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> This is not good :( Thank you for sharing!! Where can I receive further updates as this unravels?
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacombResources" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to macombresourc...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/macombresources/CAL2fTvVW1Dxx4WjxVdKNZuhs%3D2-8c3iSE2Vs6GdQy_D-2gUJSQ%40mail.gmail.com.
>
>
>
> --
> Thank you,
>
> Annette Heilman, LLBSW
> Service Coordinator, Phase 2
> AHEPA 371 Apartments
> 26800 Crocker Blvd.
> Harrison Twp. MI 48045
> 586-468-4751
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