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The Trump administration allowed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to lapse for the first time in program history on November 1st (GMA).
This decision leaves 42 million food-insecure Americans without money for groceries. And now, the President himself has said he will defy court orders (Forbes). We feel this means he is weaponizing hunger.
The Trump administration could and should have taken steps weeks ago to provide food assistance to families in need. Now, hungry Americans are paying the price for what we view as cruelty, lawlessness, and recklessness.
Demand that Congress pressure the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP
A day after the administration agreed to the judge’s ruling to at least pay partial SNAP benefits in November (CBS), President Trump took to social media in reply. He declared that his administration wouldn’t pay out any SNAP benefits until the shutdown ends―forcing his own Press Secretary to backtrack his remarks (Axios).
But if the administration won’t entirely flout the ruling―a win for hungry families―they are doubling down on the indifferent posture with partial payments and moving to deny millions of families their full SNAP benefits for at least this month. This second decision, despite a judge’s ruling that the administration has the legal authority to do so (NBC). Now, on November 6, U.S. District Judge John McConnell (RI) ordered the administration to deliver full SNAP payments to states by Friday, November 7 (NBC). Yet, almost immediately, the Justice Department said it would appeal the ruling (The Hill). Again, doubling down at the cost to hungry Americans.
In contrast, during previous shutdowns, SNAP benefits were paid without disruption. To our volunteers, it seems the administration is refusing to fully fund November SNAP benefits out of cruelty and for political motives.
We must defy this cruelty. We must educate and persuade Congress; they must denounce and decry this policy decision. The administration has almost $5 billion in SNAP contingency funds available, and there’s up to $23 billion more that can be accessed for this purpose. Funding November’s benefits in full would cost a little over $8 billion. Congress must act now and demand that the Trump administration fully fund SNAP during the shutdown and afterward.
Want to learn more about SNAP? Join us Thursday, November 13
SNAP Funding Maneuvers: Have They Been Legal?
Expert Policy briefing with David A. Super, Georgetown University Law Center
8:00 p.m. ET • 7:00 p.m. CT • 6:00 p.m. MT • 5:00 p.m. PT
RSVP online
David A. Super, a professor at Georgetown University, will provide a clear-eyed and experienced assessment of the lawless actions taken by the Trump administration regarding SNAP benefits. He will offer UUSJ chapter and verse on the maneuvers the administration has been deploying, and suggest what we all need to be aware of as this policy circumstance continues to unfold. Even if the government shutdown ends, policy experts expect to see lots of SNAP funding maneuvers for the foreseeable future.
Super is among the foremost experts on SNAP in the U.S., and he is a Unitarian Universalist.
UU Grounding:
As of General Assembly 2024, as Unitarian Universalists, we have agreed to “adopt new language on core religious values.” We agree love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. The values we share include all the following, which we hold as inseparable and deeply interconnected: Interdependence, Pluralism, Justice, Transformation, Generosity, and Equity. (Read more on the Article II revision process.) With these agreed core religious values in mind, we also ground our call to action related to hunger and poverty issues, in the following Unitarian Universalist Statements:
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Undoing Systemic White Supremacy: A Call to Prophetic Action, 2021 Statement of Conscience
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The COVID-19 Pandemic: Justice. Healing. Courage, 2021 Action of Immediate Witness
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Escalating Economic Inequity, 2017 Statement of Conscience
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Ending Hunger, 1987 General Resolution
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Hunger,1980 General Resolution
The Administration Must Fully Fund SNAP
Not Worsen Hunger In Our Nation
The Trump administration allowed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to lapse for the first time in program history on November 1st (GMA).
This decision leaves 42 million food-insecure Americans without money for groceries. And now, the President himself has said he will defy court orders (Forbes). We feel this means he is weaponizing hunger.
Not Worsen Hunger In Our Nation
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Do you want to engage? If so, you can help support our faithful defiance by:
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Funding us with a tax deductible gift toward our programs, operations, and witness.
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Do you want to get involved, put hand to the tiller? If so, you can contribute to our faithful defiance by:
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Joining an action team
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Subscribing to our advocacy volunteer list,
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Placing yourself on our witness volunteer list.
Plenty of ways to get engaged!
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