The U.S. Department of Agriculture has officially confirmed that federal food aid will be halted on November 1 due to a lack of funds during the government shutdown.
The federal government has now been shut down for over 26 days, and some federal services are beginning to run out despite receiving additional funds at the beginning of October.
These funds were intended to support these services, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, during the ongoing shutdown; however, the USDA has now stated that SNAP benefits are set to expire within the coming days.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, SNAP is meant to provide “food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget,” including 3.5 million Texans who rely on this program for food.
The USDA confirmed on its website that these benefits are set to run out on November 1, blaming Senate Democrats for the shutdown and the lack of funds for benefits.
“Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01,” stated the department.
“We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
In total, 41,697,500 Americans used SNAP benefits in 2024, meaning that over 40 million U.S. residents will likely not receive this assistance in November.
The USDA stated in a press release that some contingency funds remain available. Still, those funds are only allowed to be used “to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits,” per USA Today.
Specifically, these funds are unavailable for use since the appropriation for regular SNAP benefits is not currently available.
The USDA has now joined multiple different parties in calling for Senate Democrats to end the shutdown, with Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson saying that Democrats need to “do what’s right” for the millions of people who rely on federal services.
“‘Am I gonna starve my constituents or am I gonna appease the Marxists?’ That is their actual calculation, whether they say all of that out loud or not. Everybody in this room knows exactly what’s going on, and it’s so infuriating for us. The best way for SNAP benefits to be paid on time is for Democrats to end their shutdown, and that could happen right now if they could show some spine,” he added.
The U.S. Senate is set to return on Monday, but is not expected to conduct another vote to end the government shutdown, with no vote on the matter planned for the coming days.