(This story was updated to correct an error and to add a comment.)
In the eleventh hour, a federal judge has ruled that the federal government must continue paying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits into November in a case brought by Columbus and a coalition of nonprofits and other cities.
U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr., a federal judge in Rhode Island, issued his temporary restraining order at an afternoon virtual hearing on Oct. 31. The ruling came almost simultaneously as a federal judge in Massachusetts ordered the federal government to indicate by Monday if it would pay full or partial SNAP benefits in November.
More than 40 million Americans receive SNAP, including over 1.4 million Ohioans and nearly 180,000 Franklin County residents.
Justice Department attorney Tyler Becker argued the shutdown does not constitute a crisis and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is not required to tap into about $6 billion in contingency funds the agency has. A month of SNAP benefits costs the federal government over $8 billion.
McConnell said the government must fund SNAP using at least the contingency funds. He noted that SNAP benefits have never until now been terminated during shutdowns.
“There is no doubt and it is beyond argument that irreparable harm will begin to occur if it hasn’t already occurred in the terror it has caused some people about the availability of funding for food, for their family,” McConnell said during the hearing.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said this is an emergency and that SNAP beneficiaries have testified they would have to make tough decisions between paying for food and paying for other necessities like rent if their benefits don’t come.
Attorney Jyoti Jasrasaria also pointed to cities diverting local funds to food, like Columbus allocating $25,000 for the Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
“In the United States of America, hunger should never be used as a political weapon,” Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said in an emailed statement. “This decision is a lifeline for Columbus children, families, seniors, veterans and all those whose lives would have been upended had their food security been ripped away from them in the next 24 hours.”
He also urged Congress to reopen the government and end the uncertainty for everyone impacted by the shutdown.
This breaking news story will be updated.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: SNAP benefits must be paid, judge says in ruling siding with Columbus, others
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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