Benefits Paid

The Trump Administration said it would pay for about half of November's food assistance benefits.

Context

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps) provides aid to roughly 42M low-income Americans. The program typically costs the federal government about $9B each month. 

Congress has not appropriated funds for the program, and, amid the current shutdown, benefits were poised to stop arriving on November 1. The Trump Administration had initially said it would not tap into a contingency fund to pay for the benefits, causing SNAP funding to lapse on November 1 for the first time in the program's 60-year history.

Court Order

On Friday – a day before that benefits would have lapsed – federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts ruled that the administration must use SNAP contingency funds to keep the program running. The Rhode Island judge gave the government two options: Use emergency funding to make partial payments or find other sources to pay the full amount.