Timeline for SNAP Remains Uncertain    11/13 06:09

   

   (AP) -- The federal government is reopening, but there's still uncertainty 
about when one of the most far-reaching impacts of the closure will be resolved 
and all 42 million Americans who receive SNAP food aid will have access to 
their full November benefits.

   President Donald Trump signed the reopening measure Wednesday.

   One provision calls for restarting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program, but it doesn't resolve when the benefits will be loaded onto the debit 
cards beneficiaries use to buy groceries.

   A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the 
program, said in an email Wednesday that funds could be available "upon the 
government reopening, within 24 hours for most states." The department didn't 
immediately answer questions about where it might take longer -- or whether the 
24-hour timeline applies to when money would be available to states or loaded 
onto debit cards used by beneficiaries.

   There has been a series of court battles over the fate of the largest 
government food program, which serves about 1 in 8 Americans.

   Here are things to know about how it could go.

   When SNAP funds become available could vary by state

   Seesawing court rulings and messages from the USDA have meant that 
beneficiaries in some states already have received their full monthly 
allocations while in others they have received nothing. Some states have issued 
partial payments.

   States say it's faster to provide full benefits than it is to do the 
calculations and computer programming required for partial amounts.

   At least 19 states plus the District of Columbia issued full benefits to at 
least some recipients last week, an Associated Press tally found. Many of them 
managed to do it in a day or so, in the narrow window between the Nov. 6 court 
ruling that required the federal government to make full payments and one Nov. 
7 by the U.S. Supreme Court that stopped it.

   Jessica Garon, a spokesperson for the American Public Human Services 
Association, said she anticipates most states will be able to issue full 
benefits within three days after they're given the go-ahead, but that it might 
take a week for others.

   Experts say the states that have sent no November benefits already, such as 
South Carolina and West Virginia, will likely be the quickest.

   But there's a complication. Sixteen states have loaded the EBT cards used in 
SNAP with partial benefits. Carolyn Vega, a policy analyst with the advocacy 
group Share Our Strength said some of those states might run into technical 
hurdles to issue the remaining amount.

   Delays in benefits can be a problem for recipients

   Even if there's some clarity that benefits are on the way, exactly when they 
arrive will matter to millions of Americans.

   About 42 million lower-income Americans receive SNAP benefits, on average 
about $190 monthly per person. Many say the benefits don't and aren't intended 
to cover the full cost of groceries in a regular month, even with careful 
budgeting.

   It's worse when benefits are delayed.

   Doretha Washington, 41, of St. Louis, and her husband have themselves and 
six children to feed and not enough money to cover that cost. Her husband works 
servicing heating and cooling systems, but the family still needs SNAP to get 
by. They had received nothing in November, although Missouri said Tuesday that 
partial benefits would be issued.

   "Now it's making things difficult because we can't pay our bills in full and 
keep food in here," Washington said this week. "I'm down to three days of food 
and trying to figure out what to do."

   She has been rationing what they have.

   Other people have turned to food charities but are sometimes finding long 
lines and low supplies.

   Cutting off funds left state governments scrambling

   The USDA told states Oct. 24 that it would not fund the program for November 
if the shutdown continued. That left states scrambling. Most Democratic-led 
states sued to have the funding restored.

   Some Democratic and Republican-led states launched efforts to pay for SNAP 
benefits using state money, boost food banks and deploy the National Guard to 
help with food distribution. Another group of states used their money allotted 
for SNAP benefits only after a judge ordered the Trump administration to cover 
the full cost for the month.

   The legislation to reopen the government passed by the Senate on Monday 
calls for states to be reimbursed for spending their funds to run programs 
usually paid for by the federal government.

   It's not immediately clear, though, which situations might qualify in the 
case of SNAP.

   In the meantime, the USDA told states Tuesday that it would reimburse them 
for paying out partial SNAP benefits under a system where recipients get up to 
65% of their regular allocations -- and even states that paid the full amount 
can receive partial reimbursements. It also said it would not reduce the amount 
on cards for recipients in states that paid full amounts.

   Democratic-led states that sued for benefits to be made available said in a 
filing Wednesday that the late-arriving information "illustrates the chaos and 
confusion occasioned by USDA's multiple, conflicting guidance documents."