Newsom Warns Californians' Snap Benefits Could Be Delayed Because Of Federal Shutdown - Beritaja

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a stark warning Monday that nutrient assistance benefits for millions of low-income Californians could beryllium delayed starting Nov. 1 if the ongoing national shutdown does not extremity by Thursday.

The benefits, issued nether the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, aliases SNAP, and formerly called nutrient stamps, see federally funded benefits loaded onto CalFresh cards. They support immoderate 5.5 cardinal Californians.

Newsom blamed the imaginable SNAP disruption — and the shutdown much broadly — connected President Trump and slammed the timing of the imaginable cutoff conscionable arsenic the Thanksgiving vacation approaches.

“Trump’s nonaccomplishment to unfastened the national authorities is now endangering people’s lives and making basal needs for illustration nutrient much costly — conscionable arsenic the holidays arrive,” Newsom said. “It is agelong past clip for Republicans successful Congress to turn a spine, guidelines up to Trump, and present for the American people.”

The White House responded by blaming the shutdown connected Democrats, arsenic it has done before.

Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said the “Democrats’ determination to unopen down the authorities is hurting Americans crossed the country,” and that Democrats “can take to reopen the authorities astatine immoderate point” by voting for a continuing solution to money the authorities arsenic fund negotiations continue, which she said they many times did during the Biden administration.

“Newscum should impulse his Democrat pals to extremity hurting the American people,” Jackson said, utilizing a favourite Trump reproach for Newsom. “The Trump Administration is moving time and nighttime to mitigate the symptom Democrats are causing, and moreover that is upsetting the Left, pinch galore Democrats criticizing the President’s effort to salary the troops and money nutrient assistance for women and children.”

Congressional Republicans besides person blamed the shutdown and resulting interruptions to national programs connected Democrats, who are refusing to ballot for a Republican-backed backing measurement based successful ample portion connected Republican decisions to destruct subsidies for healthcare plans relied connected by millions of Americans.

Newsom’s informing about SNAP benefits followed similar alerts from different states connected some sides of the governmental aisle, aft the U.S. Department of Agriculture warned authorities agencies successful an Oct. 10 missive that the shutdown whitethorn interrupt backing for the benefits.

States person to return action to rumor November benefits earlier the period ends, truthful the shutdown would person to extremity sooner than Nov. 1 for the benefits to beryllium disposable successful time.

Newsom’s agency said Californians could spot their benefits interrupted aliases delayed if the shutdown is not ended by Thursday. The Texas Health and Human Services Department warned that SNAP benefits for November “won’t beryllium issued if the national authorities shutdown continues past Oct. 27.”

Newsom’s agency said a cutoff of costs would impact federally funded CalFresh benefits, but besides immoderate different state-funded benefits. More than 63% of SNAP recipients successful California are children aliases aged people, Newsom’s agency said.

In her ain statement, First Partner of California Jennifer Siebel Newsom said, “Government should beryllium measured by really we protect people’s lives, their health, and their well-being. Parents and caregivers should not beryllium forced to take betwixt buying groceries aliases paying bills.”

States were already gearing up for different changes to SNAP eligibility based connected the Republican-passed “Big Beautiful Bill,” which group caller limits connected SNAP benefits, including for nonworking adults. Republicans person based on that specified restrictions will promote much able-bodied adults to get backmost into the workforce to support their families themselves.

Many Democrats and defense organizations that activity to protect low-income families and children person based on that restricting SNAP benefits has a disproportionately ample effect connected immoderate of the about susceptible group successful the country, including mediocre children.

According to the USDA, about 41.7 cardinal Americans were served by SNAP benefits per period successful fiscal 2024, astatine an yearly costs of about $100 billion. The USDA has immoderate contingency backing it could utilize to proceed benefits successful the short term, but does not person capable to screen each monthly benefits, advocates said.

Andrew Cheyne, managing head of nationalist argumentation astatine the defense group End Child Poverty California, urged the USDA to utilize its contingency backing and immoderate different backing watercourse imaginable to forestall a disruption to SNAP benefits, which he said would beryllium “disastrous.”

“CalFresh is simply a lifeline for 5.5 cardinal Californians who trust connected the programme to eat. That includes 2 cardinal children. It is unconscionable that we are only days distant from children and families not knowing wherever their adjacent repast is going to travel from,” Cheyne said.

He said the subject is clear that “even a little play of nutrient insecurity has semipermanent consequences for children’s maturation and development.”

Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, said a disruption would beryllium “horrific.”

“We speak retired for the needs of kids and families, and kids request nutrient — basal support to unrecorded and usability and spell to school,” he said. “So this could beryllium really devastating.”

Times unit writer Jenny Gold contributed to this report.