States say they are now paying full food stamp benefits, rushing to get money out the door to needy Americans even as President Trump appeals the court ruling that ordered him to pay.
The Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service sent a notice to states saying it is working to comply with the ruling by Judge John McConnell Jr, an Obama pick to the court in Rhode Island, who has imposed his will on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps.
States then told beneficiaries they can expect the money to appear in their accounts.
Oregon, for example, told its food stamp recipients they’ll get a full month’s payment now even if they weren’t scheduled to get their November benefit until later in the month.
“As of this morning, Oregon families are beginning to access their full November SNAP benefits restored on their Oregon Trail Cards. This means all Oregonians receiving SNAP will have their full monthly benefit available now, regardless of their usual payment schedule,” the state said Friday.
That appears to be an effort to lock in payments in case Mr. Trump prevails in his ongoing attempt to appeal Judge McConnell’s decision.
The administration had agreed earlier to pay partial benefits during the government shutdown, under Judge McConnell’s orders that the Agriculture Department use money from a contingency fund.
But Trump officials had resisted the judge’s suggestion that it also borrow money from the Child Nutrition Program, which funds school lunches, to pay for food stamps. Government lawyers said if they borrowed that money, there’s no guarantee Congress would replenish it later, which would leave the children served by that program in the lurch.
Judge McConnell, in a ruling Thursday, rejected that justification and accused the government of playing games with payments and timing. He ordered the government to tap other funds.
The administration appealed that ruling to the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which was considering the matter Friday.
