Senate Democrats Cling To Shutdown As 40 Million Americans Face Food Aid Lapse

Senate Democrats are sticking with their shutdown strategy despite the prospect of more than 40 million Americans losing access to federal food aid due to the funding lapse.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps feed roughly 42 million Americans, is slated to experience a funding lapse for the first time in history beginning Nov. 1. Though Democrats have said they want to avert a freeze on the food stamp program, Republicans have excoriated Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his caucus for refusing to reopen the government and prevent SNAP from going unfunded.

“SNAP recipients shouldn’t go without food. People should be getting paid in this country,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said during a fiery speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday. “We’ve tried to do that 13 times. You voted ‘no’ 13 times. This isn’t a political game. These are real people’s lives that we’re talking about — and you all have just figured out that 29 days in that ‘oh there might be some consequences.’”

The majority leader blocked standalone legislation from Democratic New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lújan to temporarily cover SNAP funding on Wednesday afternoon. Thune argued the measure was a “cynical attempt to buy political cover” for Democrats to continue the shutdown without having a major pain point on the horizon.

Democrats, however, have sought to blame Republicans for the looming SNAP benefit freeze despite voting against reopening the government on 13 separate occasions.

“The bottom line is they [the Trump administration] can fund it just as in 2019, just as in other shutdowns, for a long period of time,” Schumer told the DCNF during a press conference on Wednesday. “If they have all this money for Argentina and all this money for other things, they have enough money to keep funding SNAP — and they know it.”

Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff similarly told the DCNF on Wednesday that President Donald Trump has the authority to unilaterally fund the program until Congress approves new appropriations.

“He has the authority he needs, but the president seems intent on depriving a lot of seniors, children, veterans of food while he’s building the ballroom,” Schiff said.

More than 5 million Californians are enrolled in SNAP, according to the California Budget & Policy Center.

The Trump administration has argued they do not have the legal authority to tap unused funding to avert the food aid cliff.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01,” the Department of Agriculture website read as of Wednesday. “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”

“Democrats know the President cannot legally use emergency funds to the tune of $9 billion per month for food assistance,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said Wednesday. “Democrats have one option: vote for a clean continuing resolution and reopen the government.”

Some Democrats have also suggested that preventing a SNAP funding lapse is not their top priority during the shutdown. Senate Democrats have been adamant that they will not reopen the government until Republicans agree to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the year’s end, among other partisan priorities.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to make sure people get their SNAP benefits back,” Democratic Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego told the DCNF on Monday. “But again, 24 million people are going to have their premiums doubled starting November 1, and we want to make sure that we take care of that problem first.”

Though Democrats have remained largely united despite the mounting impacts of the shutdown, some lawmakers are acknowledging the pain that some of their constituents are feeling.

“People are suffering,” Democratic Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper told the DCNF on Tuesday. “It gets a little worse every week.”

Wednesday marks Day 29 of the government shutdown which has continued to drag on with no resolution in sight.

Andi Shae Napier and Caden Olson contributed to this report.