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NEW YORK – OCTOBER 07: A sign in a market window announces the acceptance of food stamps on October 7, 2010 in New York. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
The Trump administration promised on Tuesday that Americans would receive food stamps until February despite the partial closure of the government, but officials could not promise that these benefits would be maintained if the closure lasted until March.
Congress alone has the funds approved for the complementary nutritional aid program until January, fueling concerns about food benefits used by 38 million Americans, would expire in budget stalemate at Washington.
In a telephone conversation with reporters, officials at the Ministry of Agriculture said will give states the money for food coupons from February to before – from here on January 20 – to circumvent the expiration of federal credits. States, which manage the SNAP program, will have to request that money be allocated earlier than usual.
"I know there has been a real worry all over America" regarding the benefits of food stamps, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. "The benefits for February will be provided … It works and is legally valid."
SNAP recipients will not see their benefits decrease until late February, even if the closure continues, said Brandon Lipps, under Acting Assistant Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services.
But Trump administration officials could not guarantee that food stamps would be paid if the closure ended beyond February, accusing Congress of not giving money to Trump for his wall project along the US-Mexico border. [19659008] "We have provided another month of SNAP benefits," said Perdue. "I think Congress has enough time to act and send a supply bill [Trump] able to sign."
The USDA relies on a provision of the bill on government budget that expired December 21 and allows the federal government to make certain payments up to 30 days after the end of the budget.
USDA officials have already announced that they are already granting an "early issue" of SNAP funds to states facing natural disasters and seeking to pay out money to beneficiaries before They do not hit, according to Agriculture. Officials of the department. This solution is similar, although it has never been used during a government shutdown, officials said.
This solution will not be allocated to a $ 3 billion contingency fund for food stamps. We could not immediately know if this money could help cover benefit payments in March. Emergency funding would be enough to cover about two-thirds of the program's funding in recent months.
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