Democrats and Republicans are pushing dueling bills to keep Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits funded through November, as the government shutdown threatens to cease the distribution of benefits on Saturday.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday her department is legally prohibited from tapping into its contingency fund to keep SNAP benefits funded. It will cost the department $9.2 billion to fund SNAP benefits through November, funds that Rollins said the department does not have due to the shutdown.
SNAP provided benefits to about 41.7 million Americans in fiscal 2024, according to a monthly average calculated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). That year, the government spent $99.8 billion on SNAP, a monthly average of $187.20 per participant.
Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) Keep SNAP Funded Act of 2025 would fund the food aid program for states across the country until the nearly monthlong government shutdown ends. For its part, the USDA can receive its allotments through appropriations or stopgap measures.
The bill has the backing of 10 Republicans, including Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), Katie Britt (Ala.) and John Cornyn (Texas). Hawley’s bill also has support from one Democrat, Sen. Peter Welch (Vt.).
“There is no reason any of these residents of my state — or any other American who qualifies for food assistance — should go hungry. We can afford to provide the help,” Hawley wrote in a Tuesday op-ed for The New York Times.
Hawley argued that spending on food aid was not something that was optional despite Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-S.D.) criticism of legislation isolated to certain sectors impacted by the shutdown.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) also introduced a companion bill in the House that would keep the food aid program funded.
“More than 262,000 Iowans, including over 100,000 children rely on SNAP to put food on the table. They cannot afford to be ‘leverage’ in the Democrats’ political games,” Miller-Meeks said in a statement. “That’s why I’m introducing legislation to ensure SNAP remains funded throughout the shutdown. Access to food is not negotiable.”
But as Republicans gear up for a potential vote on Hawley’s bill, Democrats on Tuesday announced their own alternative to keeping SNAP benefits funded through November. Sen. Ben Ray Luján’s (D-N.M.) bill requires the Trump administration to fund SNAP and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants ,and Children, or WIC, which provides essential nutrition assistance for lower-income mothers. States would then be reimbursed for funding those benefits during the shutdown.
At a press conference Wednesday, Luján, flanked by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), condemned the USDA for not tapping in to its emergency funding to keep SNAP benefits issued. He said the Trump administration, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and the USDA justified letting more than 40 million people go “hungry.”
“That’s bulls‑‑‑,” Luján said. “I come from a small farm. I know the difference of good soil and the bulls‑‑‑ that goes in it, and this is bulls‑‑‑.”
Luján later recollected something former New Mexico Gov. Bruce King (D) used to say that if people cannot agree to a solution, “sometimes you’ve got to lock them up in a barn until they come up with a solution.”
“Well Mr. President, come back from jetting around the world,” Luján said, referring to President Trump’s trip to Asia. “Come back to the White House. President Trump said it’s up to a president to prevent a shutdown. He said it does not bode well for presidents if there’s a shutdown. Well, come on back.”
Luján intends to seek unanimous consent on the Senate floor for his bill Wednesday.
