By Helen Coster
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal court in Rhode Island on Saturday ordered the Trump administration to make full food aid benefit payments by Monday, or partial payments by Wednesday, while acknowledging the “irreparable harm” that exists without their timely payment.
The Rhode Island case is one of two lawsuits filed to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, known as SNAP or food stamps, which aid low-income Americans.
In a ruling issued on Friday, Judge John J. McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island rejected the USDA’s argument that it could not fund SNAP because of the ongoing federal shutdown.
McConnell’s Saturday order gave President Donald Trump’s administration a Monday deadline to present a plan to pay full benefits on that day, or at least partial payments two days later.
“There is no question that the congressionally approved contingency funds must be used now because of the shutdown; in fact, the President during his first term issued guidance indicating that these contingency funds are available if SNAP funds lapse due to a government shutdown,” McConnell wrote in the order.
JUDGE SAYS AGENCY MUST DISTRIBUTE MONEY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
At the end of Friday’s hearing, McConnell said the administration’s decision not to tap $5.25 billion in contingency funds to fund November benefits was arbitrary.
He said the agency must distribute the emergency money “as soon as possible,” and if the money was insufficient, the agency should determine whether it could use money from a separate fund that has around $23 billion.
In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump wrote: “I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT. Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.”
Saturday’s order does just that, wrote McConnell, who cited Trump’s social media post.
“The Court greatly appreciates the President’s quick and definitive response to this Court’s Order and his desire to provide the necessary SNAP funding,” the judge wrote.
SHUTDOWN PLACES BENEFITS IN JEOPARDY
SNAP benefits are available to Americans whose income is less than 130% of the federal poverty line, or $1,632 a month for a one-person household and $2,215 for a two-person household in many areas. States are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the benefits, which are paid out monthly.
The prolonged government shutdown, for which Republicans and Democrats have blamed each other, has put SNAP benefits in jeopardy.
The USDA has said insufficient funds exist to pay full benefits to 42 million low-income Americans, as they cost $8.5 billion to $9 billion per month.
The administration said the agency lacked authority to pay them until Congress passes a spending bill to end a government shutdown that began on October 1.
In a separate lawsuit brought by 25 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston on Friday ruled the administration was wrong in saying it was legally barred from using the contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits during the shutdown.
(Reporting by Helen Coster; Editing by Sergio Non and Jamie Freed)
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