Washington D.C. — Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) joined 213 House Democrats in a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins demanding that the Trump Administration protect Americans' Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the Republican shutdown. The lawmakers underscored the devastating consequences of a potential lapse in benefits and urged Secretary Rollins to release contingency funding to states and use all available statutory authority to transfer funds to cover Americans' remaining benefits for November.

"Nearly a quarter of households in my district rely on SNAP to feed their families," said Rep. Sewell. "For so many, SNAP means the difference between a hot meal and going to bed hungry. The fact that President Trump and Congressional Republicans would rather take food away from hungry families than work with Democrats to end this shutdown is shameful but not surprising. These are the same people responsible for making the largest cut to SNAP in American history less than four months ago."

SNAP benefits were made available to eligible individuals in October, but due to the Agriculture Secretary’s unwillingness to use her statutory transfer authority along with the roughly $5 billion SNAP contingency fund to deliver benefits in November, 42 million Americans, including more than 750,000 Alabamians, risk not being able to keep food on their table.

The lawmakers wrote in part, "...we were deeply concerned to see your comments suggesting that SNAP will run out of funding in two weeks and that no SNAP benefits will be issued in November... USDA still has significant funding available in SNAP's contingency reserve—which Congress provides precisely for this reason—that can be used to fund the bulk of November benefits."

The lawmakers continued, "We urge USDA to use these funds for November SNAP benefits and issue clear guidance to states on how to navigate benefit issuance. Additionally, while the contingency reserve will not cover November benefits in full, we urge USDA to use its statutory transfer authority or any other legal authority at its disposal to supplement these dollars and fully fund November benefits."

Speaker Johnson and House Republicans have kept the House from convening for over one month, but Rep. Sewell remains ready and willing to negotiate with anyone to end the shutdown, keep food on the table, and prevent health care costs from skyrocketing.

Full text of the letter can be found here and below:

Dear Madam Secretary,

Right now, millions of Americans are struggling to afford food due to the Administration’s ill-conceived trade war. Just this year, we’ve seen household staples like eggs, coffee, and ground beef hit record high prices. Now more than ever, millions of families across the country depend upon the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to make ends meet. For far too many veterans, seniors, and children, SNAP benefits are the difference between having food or not. Now, due to the government shutdown, they are facing crippling levels of uncertainty about whether they will be able to afford food next month.

A potential lapse in benefits would be felt by Americans of all ages and affect every corner and congressional district in the country. As the largest food assistance program in the United States, SNAP serves 42 million people. That includes 16 million children, 8 million seniors, 4 million people with disabilities, and 1.2 million veterans.

That is why we were deeply concerned to see your comments suggesting that SNAP will run out of funding in two weeks and that no SNAP benefits will be issued in November. USDA’s shutdown plan acknowledges that “Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds...” USDA still has significant funding available in SNAP’s contingency reserve—which Congress provides precisely for this reason—that can be used to fund the bulk of November benefits.

We urge USDA to use these funds for November SNAP benefits and issue clear guidance to states on how to navigate benefit issuance. Additionally, while the contingency reserve will not cover November benefits in full, we urge USDA to use its statutory transfer authority or any other legal authority at its disposal to supplement these dollars and fully fund November benefits.

There are clear steps the administration can and must take immediately to ensure that millions of families across the country can put food on their table in November. Choosing not to ensure SNAP benefits reach those in need this November would be a gross dereliction of your responsibilities to the American people. We appreciate your consideration of these requests.

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