Your browser does not support the audio element.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., says the Department of Agriculture is right not to use contingency funding to support the nation’s leading nutrition assistance program as millions of Americans prepare to lose food benefits at week’s end.
Boozman’s remarks to reporters on Tuesday followed the department’s recent warning to state agencies about suspending allotments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, citing the nearly monthlong federal government shutdown as the reason.
According to the Department of Agriculture, around 41.7 million Americans — including 240,000 Arkansans — receive benefits through SNAP for purchasing food. The Department of Agriculture currently covers the benefit costs in full. State agencies, such as the Arkansas Department of Human Services, oversee the program and bear a portion of administrative expenses.
The federal government spent nearly $100 billion on the program during fiscal 2024. Congress appropriates funding for SNAP through the annual appropriations process, but the legislative body failed to pass a spending measure funding many government services before the current fiscal year started on Oct. 1.
Government agencies were forced to halt many services at the shutdown’s start. The federal government, however, had allocated dollars for October SNAP benefits in September ahead of the funding lapse. The Arkansas Department of Human Services sent out a notice on Oct. 22 warning SNAP participants of a
Boozman supports USDA decision against using reserves for SNAP benefits
