Millions could face severe cuts to food stamps due to government shutdown

I wonder if this will slow the remittances sent out of the country..If the government stops subsidizing the illegals they may have to use their own money to live on. JMO

Millions could face severe cuts to food stamps due to government shutdown

BY GRACE SEGERS
UPDATED ON: JANUARY 6, 2019 / 6:40 AM / CBS NEWS

The partial government shutdown glided into its third week Saturday with no end in sight. If the government is not reopened before February, millions of Americans who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- the nation's food stamp program -- could have their assistance disrupted.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP at the federal level, is one of the agencies unfunded during the partial government shutdown. Although SNAP is automatically renewed, it has not been allocated funding from Congress beyond January. Congress has appropriated $3 billion in emergency funds for SNAP distribution, but that would not cover all of February's obligations.

In September 2018, the last month for which data is available, $4.7 billion in SNAP benefits were disbursed throughout every state. If the shutdown continues through March, there will be no remaining funding for SNAP, endangering food security for millions of Americans.


According to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 42 million Americans received SNAP benefits in 2017. More than 68 percent of participants were in families with children, and more than 44 percent were in working families.

Other programs are in even more immediate danger than SNAP. The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) are not receiving federal funds at all during the shutdown, but "can continue to operate at the State and local level with any funding and commodity resources that remain available," according to the USDA.

In the first five months of 2018, around 7 million Americans received WIC benefits each month. WIC is provided for pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 who fall within the poverty index and are at "nutritional risk." The WIC program granted nearly $5 billion to every U.S. state and territory in 2018, as of September.

Americans who benefit from both SNAP and WIC would be particularly affected in February.

Child Nutrition Programs, including School Lunch, School Breakfast, Child and Adult Care Feeding, Summer Food Service and Special Milk will continue operations through February, according to the USDA.

Staffing for Food and Nutrition Services, which oversees the Child Nutrition Programs, SNAP, and WIC, has been cut by 95 percent since the shutdown began.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/governm...-funding-usda/

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Refugee Resettlement Watch shared a post.

One follower wrote: "Two muslim 'refugees' buying dozens of bags of oranges in tandem, together, communicating, and paying with ... EBT cards. [Likely to sell in their stores]. The hijabbed [one] pitched a fit when I took her picture. I red-pilled three other people in line as well. They were furious as they watched it happen." Thou Shalt Not Steal.

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https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...49&oe=5CD1038D

Battle Dwarf Gimli @DemonTwoSix PRO
27 minutes ago
Two muslim “refugees” buying dozens of bags of oranges in tandem, together, communicating, and paying with ... EBT cards. The hijabbed sharmuta pitched a fit when I took her picture. I red-pilled three other people in line as well. They were furious as they watched it happen.

Gee...maybe they go get a job and pay for their food.

Only help our seniors, disabled and those who truly need it.

End breed and feed programs.

Enforce Public Charge and get these foreigners OFF our government taxpayer funded programs.

Send them back!

They're selling the oranges. These people disgust me so much, I could scream.

SET A WEEKLY QUOTA AND SEND THESE "REFUGEES" BACK HOME!

TRUMP PROMISED TO PUT THEM IN SAFE ZONE ON THEIR SOIL.

THEY ARE A PUBLIC CHARGE...GET THEM OFF OUR SOIL NOW!

Indiana Grocery Store Can't Process Food Stamp Payments Due To Govt. Shutdown

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...?itok=8hyQU9Og

It's starting... “We’re just nine meals away from anarchy.”

Mon, 01/07/2019 - 12:54
635 SHARES

We warned last week what could happen if the government shutdown continues into February...

If people are getting this restless already, what will things look like when tens of millions of Americans are suddenly cut off from their primary source of food money?

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Well, as Daisy Luther reports from her Organic Prepper blo g, it's starting early. As we discussed previously, we weren’t expecting to see a loss of food stamp benefits until the end of January, but a grocery store in Indiana reported they are unable to process EBT payments.

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In Clay City, Indiana, the local IGA discovered the problem last week. Initially, they thought it was a technical glitch.

“Our machines weren’t taking any EBT cards and we didn’t really know what was going on. We didn’t know if it was a technical issue. And then we found out it was due to the government shutting down,” Tristen Malone said. (source)

And although it’s for a slightly different reason, The Red Lion store in York County, Pennsylvania has also had issues. New owners recently purchased the grocery store and sent in their application to accept government benefits before the shutdown occurred.“Right now we’re officially frozen because the government is shut down and we can’t process our application.”

Tom Lohr is the new owner of D & K.
He says they tried to get pre-approved for the license before the sale went through.
“We tried to be proactive and start this in December, late November, early December , set up the new entities with the businesses it just has not worked out.”
Lohr purchased the business, but doesn’t own the company name, so the license belongs to the original owners.
“We were trying to make it a smooth transition where it would happen the first day we opened, they said if we didn’t hear anything by January 4th to give them a call back. They went dead basically just before Christmas, I think,” said Lohr.
Sixteen percent of their business comes from people who use food stamps.
D & K wants to be able to serve those in need, they’re just waiting for the government to re-open. (source)


And by the end of January, these two stores may only be a drop in the bucket.

More than 42 million Americans rely on food stamps.

A lot of people are very smug when it comes to those who rely on EBT benefits for food, picturing people driving Cadillacs to pick up their government-funded lobster and then go home and watch daytime soaps. But if you consider the state of the economy, it’s no surprise that there are millions who can’t make ends meet. Almost half of all Americans can barely afford both food and rent every month. Prices are just getting higher and wages are not increasing to meet the demands.
Really, the average EBT user isn’t always who you’d expect. Any considering 15 million children are living in homes below the poverty line, the kids will be the ones to suffer.
It’s pretty easy to be judgmental about those who accept food stamps if you have a good job and a full pantry, but remember that not everyone is in their situation by choice. Nobody is immune to hard times. I’ve been there myself.

Imagine the unpleasant surprise

Imagine going to the store to make a purchase, fully believing you have money in your account. But when the cashier tries to ring through your purchase, it’s denied. You ask her to swipe it again, because you know there’s money…but again, it’s declined. “No funds available,” you’re told.
The people who are going to buy groceries with EBT cards that are supposed to be working right now must be feeling desperate. And their frustration will cross into anger very quickly.
A cashier from Clay City, Indiana confirmed this.

“They’re really upset about it, which is understandable. I mean that’s like, you know, really discouraging that they can’t use it. And I mean we’ve had some people even get mad about it but it’s like out of our control, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Malone said. (source)

Now imagine what the situation would be like if suddenly, at the end of January, 42 million people across the country discover they won’t be able to feed their families.
It could be chaos very quickly. You know the saying, “We’re just nine meals away from anarchy.”

It’s all part of the Government Shutdown Theater.

Every single time the government shuts down, an example is made of ordinary Americans. With the Obama shutdown in 2013, all sorts of people suffered, from Native Americans to migrants to victims of domestic violence. In the current shutdown, it’s the poor people or those working government jobs paycheck to paycheck who will pay the price.
Why do they do this? Why do they make those who are suffering, suffer more?
Because the members of Congress and the government wants to impress upon us all how very essential they are to our well-being. They want to provide us with dramatic “evidence” that we can’t get by without them.

No one actually from the government is hurt by the shutdown.

Meanwhile, the “important” people aren’t noticing any hardship from the government shutdown. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi took a trip to Hawaii (but she promises it wasn’t a vacation.) And members of Congress get paid, but their staffers do not. (Kudos to this handful who have chosen to donate or forfeit their salaries during the shutdown.) It would be difficult for my opinion of these people to be much lower, but I’m sure they’ll manage to undercut my expectations even further.
The IRS will still take your money and track you down, but they won’t issue any refunds.
The system, as it stands, is anything but “by the people and for the people.”
The system is for the people who are benefitting from it. It’s for the people who are playing Americans like disposable chess pieces on a board. It’s for the people who literally benefit from the suffering of those less fortunate.
But it’s not for the rest of us.

Get prepared for some serious repercussions.

There are no signs of this shutdown ending any time soon. (Although that can change on a dime.) If it runs through the end of the month, be prepared to see some serious fallout when millions of people cannot purchase food for their families anymore. But don’t worry – your members of Congress will be just fine, regardless of how long this charade continues.
If you, personally, are relying on SNAP benefits for food, I strongly advise you to stock up now on low-cost items like beans, rice, oatmeal, peanut butter, pasta, flour, and canned fruits and vegetables. If you have money left on your card for the month, spend it now on things that won’t spoil.
If you are in a position to donate to food banks to help others, the need could soon be at an all-time high. A package of pasta and a can of sauce could at least provide a family with a warm dinner.
And no matter what your situation is, be prepared for the potential of unrest. Because hungry people with hungry children will do desperate things.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...-govt-shutdown

There are PLENTY of jobs they can apply for...it's called work, get a paycheck, go to store with your money and pay for your food!

One parent can work days and one parent can work nights, solves the daycare cost issue!

Can't feed 'em...don't breed 'em.

Get refugees, illegals, asylum, non-citizens OFF the welfare and food stamps and send them back home!

USDA: Food stamps will be funded through February

https://media.fox5dc.com/media.fox5d....0_640_360.jpgA social worker with the Cooperative Feeding Program displays a Federal food stamps card that is used to purchase food on February 10, 2011 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) By: JULIET LINDERMAN, AP

POSTED: JAN 08 2019 06:59PM CST
UPDATED: JAN 08 2019 07:32PM CST


WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration says benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, will be funded through February should the government shutdown continue.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is asking states to issue the February benefits on or before Jan. 20 so that they can be paid to the nearly 40 million Americans in the program. SNAP is already fully funded for January.

The administration announced its plans as the White House worked to limit Republican defections on spending bills in the House this week, which Democratic leaders have scheduled in hopes of driving a wedge between GOP lawmakers on the shutdown.

Democrats set a vote for Thursday on the agriculture bill, which is largely made up of payments for food stamps, knowing that it would put pressure on Republicans to abandon their leaders and vote for the measure.

The USDA said it can fund SNAP through February thanks to the short-term funding bill that ran out on Dec. 22. That bill included a provision giving federal agencies the authority to make obligated payments to support certain programs for 30 days after its expiration date.

Brandon Lipps, an acting deputy undersecretary, said other USDA programs will also be funded through February, including school lunches, food distribution programs on Indian reservations and child nutrition programs. The latter includes WIC, which provides nutritional assistance to pregnant women, mothers and babies.

Under the provision, the SNAP program will operate as it normally does and without any lapse in service, but with an earlier deadline for states to request benefits through a process called early issuance. That process is typically used during natural disasters, Lipps said, enabling states anticipating hurricanes or other weather events to distribute monthly benefits ahead of time.

Lipps said the USDA is sending letters to all state agencies to explain the process and will issue a blanket waiver of department regulations to allow for the early issuance.

"We know this is a time of great uncertainty, and no doubt anxiety for people who rely on SNAP and are dealing with tough times," Lipps said. "I hope it's reassuring for us to make clear today that we're committed to maintaining service to SNAP clients without interruption to the extent possible under the law."

The SNAP program will cost roughly $4.8 billion for February, and those funds have already been appropriated through the expired spending bill. But if the shutdown lasts until March, the USDA could be forced to dip into its reserves to help fund the program, and its $3 billion SNAP contingency fund won't cover a full month of benefits.

Perdue is a strong proponent of scaling back the SNAP program, and publicly supported a GOP House measure to strengthen work requirements for food stamp recipients. The measure garnered no support in the Senate and didn't make it into the final farm bill, which President Donald Trump signed into law in December.

The Trump administration has announced its intent to try and limit SNAP use through regulation, crafting a proposal to limit the ability of states to waive the program's work requirements.

http://www.fox26houston.com/facebook...ugh-february-1