(The Center Square) – Georgia and Tennessee Democrats are calling on their governors to ensure that recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program get their benefits in November.
In Tennessee, about 690,000 Tennessee residents will lose their benefits, known as SNAP, if the federal government shutdown continues.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons said the state could use emergency funds for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women and Children and other programs for low-income residents. He wants Gov. Bill Lee to call a special session so that lawmakers could authorize the expenditure.
“While our elected officials in Washington, D.C., continue to demonstrate their incompetence, we have an opportunity at the state to put politics aside and demonstrate our sincere care and concern for the health and welfare of Tennessee families,” Clemmons said. “We, as state officials, have a duty to step up and lead so that innocent children and disabled and low-income adults do not go hungry or lose vital aid when our state has the means to help them.”
The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication getting comment from Lee or his office.
Georgia House Democrats Viola Davis of Stone Mountain, Sandra Scott of Rex and Kim Schofield of Atlanta sent a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp asking him to use part of the state’s $15 billion surplus to fund the SNAP and the state’s Medicaid program.
“Many Georgians live one paycheck away from crisis,” Scott said. “When SNAP and Medicaid stop, families lose food, medicine and stability. We cannot allow partisan gridlock in Washington to punish Georgia’s most vulnerable.”
The Georgia Democrats are also asking Kemp to create a “Georgia Food Security Fund” for local food banks and community programs.
The shutdown began when Congress failed to reach an agreement on a spending plan.
On Thursday, a measure that would have paid essential employees during the shutdown failed in the Senate. Democrats John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., were the only members of their party to vote for the bill.
Democrats say they won’t reopen the government until Affordable Care Act premiums set to expire in December are included in the budget package.
Warnock took a swipe at President Donald Trump and a deal that gives Argentina $20 million to help that country’s economy.
“The $20 billion the president is spending to bail out his friend in Argentina is almost enough to extend your health care credits for a whole year,” Warnock said in a social media post. “If they wanted to find the money they could. We don’t suffer from a lack of resources, we suffer from leadership who fails to put people first.”
