You’ve probably seen the headlines that SNAP - our nation’s largest food assistance program, on which 1 in 4 children rely - may be about to come to a screeching halt.

The situation is very serious.

Here’s a quick video explainer on YouTube, with more detail below:

Here’s the situation:

Last week, the Agriculture Department sent a letter to all 50 states saying funding for SNAP would end on November 1.

They claimed they had no choice, that they’d run out of money because of the shutdown.

That is false.

The truth is, they have a $6 billion emergency fund that Congress gave them to make sure SNAP isn’t interrupted.

The Department is claiming they can’t use their emergency fund for this, but we know that is false for three reasons:

In creating the emergency fund, Congress was very clear: the fund is for use “in such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out program operations.”
During the last shutdown, in January 2019, the Department said they could use the emergency fund for SNAP, stating that “limited funding is available from the contingency [fund] that can be used to provide benefits for February. This reserve is being used to fund recertifications and new applications through February.”
About a month ago, the Department published a plan for how they’d deal with a government shutdown, and explicitly said they could tap the emergency fund if needed.

Read their words for yourself:

Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown. These multi-year contingency funds are also available to fund participant benefits in the event that a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year.

Now - with less than one week’s notice - the Department reversed itself and decided to let the $6 billion emergency fund sit on the shelf.

Why?

To ratchet up the pain of the shutdown. They are making a painful situation worse to help others make a political argument. And they’re hoping that most people never learn this was a choice - that they have the money and are refusing to use it.

Yes, the government is in a shutdown - and yes, the emergency fund would eventually run out if this continues.

But right now, they have billions in emergency reserves sitting untouched, and that’s the reason SNAP payments are about to stop.

As for the impact, we don’t really have a precedent. SNAP has never been shut off before. It’s kind of like breaching the debt ceiling - it would definitely be a disaster, but because it’s never happened there’s always a chorus of folks saying, “Eh, no big deal.”

But this would be a very big deal.

Let’s focus on what it would mean for kids.

1 in 4 children in our country rely on SNAP.

That’s 16 million kids nationwide - and 600,000 in NC.

1.7 million babies rely on it - and 40,000 in NC.

The average benefit payment in NC? About $180 a month.

And despite some comments I’ve seen, undocumented immigrants aren’t eligible and there are strict work requirements for folks without kids or disabilities.

If SNAP stops, we’ll all watch as food pantries are overwhelmed. Childhood hunger will spike. This will hit schools like a ton of bricks. Teachers will face classrooms full of kids who haven’t eaten enough. And by the time we reach Thanksgiving, this will be a full-blown crisis.

So here’s what we’re doing about it:

When the Agriculture Department chose to ignore its emergency fund, it broke the law. Congress gave them that money to fund the program - departments can’t just refuse to use it. Doing so is the same as overriding Congress, and departments can’t do that.

So I’ve joined with other attorneys general, and we’re taking the Department to court.

Because this is urgent - we have two days - we’ve asked the court for an emergency order requiring the Department to continue funding SNAP while the case proceeds.

Our hearing is today.

The next time you hear from me, I’ll let you know the result.

One last note:

I have extraordinary people at the NC Department of Justice working around the clock on this case. I told them that an awesome responsibility rests on our shoulders - and that we’re up to it.

More soon,

Jeff Jackson