A Department of Agriculture spokesman told the federal court on Wednesday that payments to SNAP beneficiaries in November will be 65% of their usual level instead of the 50% previously estimated by the Trump administration.
On Monday, the administration told a federal judge it would use more than $4 billion in reserve funds to distribute half of the monthly benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, during the ongoing government shutdown.
The revised numbers mean a family of four in the lower 48 states would receive about $646 a month.
It's unclear what prompted the change, but the Justice Department calls it an “error” that they tried to correct “as soon as it was discovered.”
The new rate was revealed in a court filing Wednesday evening by Patrick Penn, Agriculture Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services.
We'd like to hear from you about how you're coping with the government shutdown, whether you're a federal employee who can't work right now, someone who relies on federal benefits like SNAP, or someone who's feeling the effects of the closure of other services in your daily life. Please contact us at [email protected] or contact us Here.
The exact timing of the distribution of benefits to more than 40 million recipients is still uncertain. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said this. in a social network post It said on Monday that partial payments would take “several weeks” to complete.
She added that when the government reopens, “FULL benefits will be available to families without delay.”
The government shutdown entered its 36th day on Wednesday, making it the longest in U.S. history.
Many states have adopted plans to help overcome the funding gap.
