Politics
Illinois Joins Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Over Looming SNAP Cuts Amid Government Shutdown
(Valerii Apetroaiei / iStock)
Illinois on Tuesday joined a coalition of more than two dozen states suing the Trump administration for its refusal to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, during the government shutdown.
“At a time of increased costs for families, the Trump administration is making a deliberate, illegal and cruel decision to cut off access to food for nearly 2 million Illinoisans,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a news release announcing the lawsuit.
Starting Saturday, cards that SNAP beneficiaries use to buy groceries will not be reloaded. The Trump administration said last week it won’t use a roughly $5 billion contingency fund to keep funding the federal food assistance program next month during the ongoing government shutdown.
Tuesday’s legal filing from attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia, plus three governors, argues that despite its claim of insufficient funds, the USDA has access to billions of dollars in SNAP-specific contingency funds appropriated by Congress for use during an event like a government shutdown.
The lawsuit also argues that a suspension of SNAP benefits would have dire consequences for the health and well-being of millions of Americans who rely on the program to feed themselves and their families, while also creating an unnecessary strain on state and local governments, and community organizations.
“Shutting off SNAP benefits will cause deterioration of public health and wellbeing,” the lawsuit reads. “Ultimately, the States will bear costs associated with many of these harms.”
In a statement Tuesday, the Greater Chicago Food Depository said a disruption to SNAP would create a crisis unlike anything the organization has seen in its 46-year history.
“The Greater Chicago Food Depository urges federal leaders to change course and use any available resources to keep SNAP benefits flowing in November,” the Food Depository said in a statement. “Even during a shutdown, the federal government has a legal requirement and moral obligation to fund SNAP.”
The Food Depository said it is in close communication with its network of partner food pantries and programs throughout Cook County to increase food distribution in the case that SNAP benefits are not distributed in November. The organization said it will take a “geographic and need-based approach” focused on areas with the highest concentration of SNAP participants.
According to the lawsuit, the USDA sent a letter to state SNAP agencies on Oct. 10 announcing that if the federal government shutdown continued, there would be insufficient funds to pay full SNAP benefits for November. The USDA then sent another letter to state SNAP agencies on Oct. 24 announcing it would suspend SNAP benefits effective Nov. 1.
Approximately 42 million Americans, or one in eight Americans, rely on SNAP to buy groceries.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]
