‘Blatant violation’: Congressional Black Caucus blasts Trump over ‘partial’ SNAP funding

CBC Chairwoman U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke blasted the Trump administration’s decision as a “blatant violation” of court rulings that determined that its initial freezing of SNAP payments was unlawful.

The Congressional Black Caucus slammed the Trump administration after a court filing revealed that it would provide only half of the normal SNAP funding for November amid the ongoing government shutdown.

“As we enter the sixth week of the Republican government shutdown, health care subsidies are set to skyrocket as previous subsidies expire, and 42 million Americans are losing food aid benefits,” said U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The CBC chairwoman blasted the Trump administration’s decision as a “blatant violation” of the two court rulings that determined that its initial freezing of SNAP payments was unlawful.

The federal government will issue $4.65 billion from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s emergency contingency fund; however, it won’t be enough to cover the cost of regular payments. The Trump administration informed the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island that it would not provide the additional $4 billion from other accounts to cover full benefits for November. It argued that doing so “merely shifts the problem” from funding SNAP to funding for other critical services like the Child Nutrition Program.

“To be clear, the Trump Administration has the contingency funding to fully fund SNAP. Partial funding simply isn’t sufficient to keep food on the tables of American families who have already missed their benefits due to the Administration’s reckless and illegal inaction,” the CBC said of the fiscal maneuvering. “There can be no further delay in releasing the full funding for SNAP benefits.”

The government shutdown is now on day 34, as President Trump and Republicans have so far refused to negotiate with Democrats, who are demanding that tax credit subsidies for Obamacare be permanently extended, as premiums will skyrocket beginning next year.

The pain that is currently impacting 42 million Americans relying on SNAP–including 11 million Black Americans–could come to an end if lawmakers and the White House agree to fund the government.

The CBC warned, “Each day that goes by is another day a child, senior, or person with a disability in our country goes hungry because the Trump Administration would rather play politics than meet the needs of the American people.”

The Democratic National Committee also condemned the Trump administration’s partial funding of SNAP. In a statement, the Democratic Party’s national headquarters said, “Trump is using Americans in blue and red states as political pawns in his cruel game to shut down the government to avoid extending the enhanced ACA premium tax credits that help reduce health care costs for 22 million Americans.”