SNAP benefits for 40 million people were almost cut off this weekend:
SNAP benefits for 40 million people were almost cut off this weekend until two judges ordered the Trump administration to release emergency funds.
But delays are still expected, and the USDA doesn’t have enough money to keep the program going for long.
At the same time, health insurance costs are about to spike.
If Congress doesn’t act, many families will lose ACA subsidies and could see their monthly premiums rise by $2,000 or more.
One couple in Wisconsin might have to pay $33,000 more per year because of what’s happening.
Flights, meanwhile, are still being delayed across the country as unpaid air traffic controllers struggle to keep things running safely.
With Congress still not meeting and no deal in sight, the shutdown is hitting basic needs, food, health care, and travel, harder each day.
SNAP is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net, touching nearly 1 in 8 people in the country each month. They receive benefits on prepaid cards that they can use for groceries.
The other big pieces of the safety net — Social Security and Medicaid — are expected to continue paying benefits during the shutdown.
But because of the way it’s funded, SNAP is vulnerable.
Vulnerable families could see federal money dry up soon for some other programs, as well — from certain Head Start preschool programs to aid for mothers to care for their newborns through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC.
In the accounting year that ended on Sept. 30, 2024, SNAP cost just over $100 billion, including the half of state administrative costs covered by federal taxpayers. It provided an average of $187 a month to 41.7 million people.
