(The Center Square) – Partial benefits will be issued for nearly 1.4 million North Carolinians relying on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the state Health Department says.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave guidance on Tuesday.
Federal funding being provided this week would allow the state Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the program, to load electronic benefits transfer cards by next week. The Health Department recommends recipients to check the cards often.
“This follows USDA’s statement it would use $4.65 billion in emergency funds to cover about half of the federal SNAP program for the month of November in response to a lawsuit,” a release says.
“SNAP is more than a benefit – it is a lifeline,” said Health Secretary Dev Sangvai. “It helps children grow, supports working families, and ensures older adults and people with disabilities can put food on the table. While we are encouraged by the decision to require the use of emergency funds, the fact that families will receive only partial benefits, is troubling. Food is foundational to health, dignity, and opportunity. We must focus on the people we serve and ensure that programs like SNAP are protected from further disruption.”
More than 622,000 households are served by SNAP, the Health Department said. Those with balances on the account entering November can use them, though more than 60% had $25 or less and more than 30% had less than $1.
The federal government shut down on Oct. 1 for the first time since a 35-day stoppage bridging 2018 and 2019. At 36 days on Wednesday, this shutdown is the longest in the nation’s history.
The Republican majority U.S. House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution in September. The Republican majority Senate is stalled in filibuster led by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., unable to get seven votes to reach the threshold of 60 needed to pass the legislation and unwilling to compromise on the House legislation.
Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., the deputy whip in the chamber, in a network interview said, “Shutdowns are terrible, and, of course, there will be families who will suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage points we have.”
Schumer has asked for closed-door meetings with second-term Republican President Donald Trump, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota. Transparency has been Johnson’s repeated response.
In addition to Democrats in the House rejecting the continuing resolution in September, Democrats in the Senate have rejected it 14 times following Tuesday afternoon’s vote.
