IFPTE Joins Union to Request USDA Secretary Rollings Distribute SNAP Using Emergency Funds

With Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) about to expire for 42 million Americans on November 1, IFPTE joined the AFL-CIO’s union letter urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins to disburse SNAP emergency funding.

The letter states, “The USDA has several tools available that would enable SNAP benefits to be paid through, or close to, the end of November.” During the 2018-2019 government shutdown that lasted 35 days, USDA issued SNAP funding to states through the contingency reserve, consistent with previous government shutdowns.

USDA’s ability to use this reserve fund has been well established and is consistent with the law (see Center on Budget & Policy Priorities, “SNAP’s Contingency Reserve Is Available for Regular SNAP Benefits, as USDA and OMB Have Ruled in Past”)

The letter also notes that there is grave harm that will be done if USDA fails to provide SNAP benefits to the most vulnerable working Americans and their families as well as to the economy. The letter reminds USDA Secretary Rollins that, “Each $1 spent by SNAP generates up to $1.80 in economic activity that is felt throughout the economy, spurring spending in the food chain—from farmers and ranchers to food manufacturers and truckers to grocers and store employees—and beyond.”

Read the union letter to USDA here.