Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced legislation to keep food aid flowing during the shutdown. It rivals a plan from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)
Senate Democrats are preparing to introduce their own bill to keep food aid benefits flowing for millions of Americans during the government shutdown ahead of a Nov. 1 funding cliff.
The legislation, led by Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), could draw Democratic support away from a rival bipartisan plan by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), which pushes USDA and the Treasury Department to fully fund November benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — the nation’s largest anti-hunger initiative.
Luján’s bill, on the other hand, would require the administration to fund both SNAP and a separate food aid program serving low-income women and children. It would also require that states be reimbursed for funding benefits during the shutdown.
Most of the Democratic caucus, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), have signed onto the latest legislation, though it notably has yet to pick up any Republican co-sponsors.
Their latest move comes after the Trump administration recently concluded it doesn’t have the legal authority to tap a USDA contingency fund to pay for billions of dollars worth of food aid next month. If Congress or the White House doesn’t step in with more money, SNAP benefits would lapse for the first time in modern history.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday that it would cost the department $9.2 billion to fund November SNAP benefits, administrative costs and nutrition block grants for U.S. territories — and she emphasized that USDA does not have those dollars on hand.
Democratic officials from 25 states and the District of Columbia have already challenged the administration’s decision not to tap emergency funds in court. Meanwhile, senators are focused on finding short-term solutions with the government shutdown now in its fifth week.
“Let me be clear: the Trump administration has the authority and the funds to keep SNAP running,” Luján said in a statement. “If they refuse to act, millions of Americans will go hungry. Ensuring Americans don’t go hungry should not be a partisan issue, yet the Trump administration is playing politics with people’s lives.”
Luján’s home state of New Mexico has the highest level of dependence on SNAP, with around 21 percent of its population having received benefits last year.
GOP leaders have not signaled that they’ll give any SNAP standalone funding bill a vote. Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that it’d be a “waste of time” to vote on standalone funding patches during the ongoing shutdown.
Hawley told reporters previously that it’s up to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to decide whether his bill will receive a floor vote.
“I mean, he controls the floor, obviously, and this is only going to pass with a vote,” Hawley said, adding that the Senate won’t be able to unanimously pass the legislation due to individual concerns with the bill.