Attorney General Phil Weiser today announced that a federal court has ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to resume providing food benefits to millions of Americans through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, with contingency funds allocated by Congress.
“The bottom line is that the court said the USDA cannot suspend SNAP benefits and must use congressionally appropriated reserve funds to provide food benefits during the government shutdown,” said Attorney General Weiser. “No one should go hungry or experience financial hardship because of political gridlock in Washington, D.C. or an abuse of power by the Trump administration. The court’s order makes clear that the USDA cannot ignore its legal duty to fund SNAP when Congress has made contingency funds available. More than 600,000 Coloradans depend on these benefits to feed themselves and their families, and they must receive this critical food support.”