(AURN News) – A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the administration to immediately move money to restore SNAP, with a written plan due by noon Monday. The ruling points to Congress’s contingency reserve and says that it has not enough. The USDA can lawfully tap other accounts, including the Section 32 fund, which held more than $23 billion in early October.
If the White House opts against fully funding November, the court requires partial payments to hit EBT cards by Wednesday, Nov. 5. More than 42 million Americans rely on SNAP. Benefits lapsed over the weekend. The program costs roughly $8 billion a month, so the $6 billion in combined contingency reserves will not cover November without additional funding.
Cities and states are scrambling to support food banks, but local dollars cannot replace federal benefits. Will the administration meet the noon deadline and fully fund November?
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
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