HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 204

Reps. Miller, Paiz, Price, Mentzer, Arbit, Pohutsky, Dievendorf, B. Carter, Longjohn, Coffia, Tsernoglou, Koleszar, MacDonell, Young, Hope, Puri, Rheingans, Conlin, T. Carter, Scott, Witwer, Martus and Fitzgerald offered the following resolution:

A resolution to urge President Donald J. Trump and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to activate contingency funds to cover the upcoming month of food assistance benefits for 42 million Americans who stand to lose them on November 1 if the federal government remains shut down.

Whereas, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation?s largest food assistance program, with over 42 million Americans relying on the program to help them put food on the table. This includes approximately 1.4 million Michiganders, or one in seven of the state?s residents. Of Michigan?s SNAP participants, more than 59 percent are families with children, more than 39 percent are families with older or disabled adults, and more than 46 percent are working families; and

Whereas, On October 10, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services was notified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that, due to the ongoing federal government funding lapse, there will be a limited availability to distribute SNAP benefits in November and to hold on issuing SNAP benefits until further notice. The failure to pay these benefits means that low-income families will be forced to choose between purchasing food and paying for other necessities like rent and utilities, children will go hungry and be unable to focus in school, and individuals who are reliant on medication will have to choose between taking their medicine and eating; and

Whereas, A lapse in SNAP benefits will have wide-reaching social, health, and economic impacts. As well as putting the health and well-being of SNAP participants at risk, failing to provide SNAP funding will result in a loss of revenue for farmers, grocers, and other small businesses; and

Whereas, It is all the more important that SNAP benefits be distributed when millions of Americans are already struggling to afford food. Staples like eggs, coffee, and ground beef all hit record high prices this year. Even prior to the current funding lapse, a majority of polled Americans cited the cost of groceries as being a major stressor; and

Whereas, The federal government?s claim that SNAP?s contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits is inaccurate in light of prior practice that allows for the Trump administration to use its legal transfer authority, the same authority it recently used to provide additional funds to the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC program), to cover regular SNAP benefits; and

Whereas, Multiple USDA documents and confirmation from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have explicitly confirmed that contingency funds can be used for SNAP benefits during a government shutdown in order to prevent a break in benefits; and

Whereas, The Trump administration itself, particularly during the 2018-2019 government shutdown, as well as past administrations, have all held the position that emergency contingency funds can and should be used to fund SNAP during a government shutdown; now, therefore be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge President Trump and the United States Department of Agriculture to activate contingency funds to cover the upcoming month of food assistance benefits for 42 million Americans who stand to lose them on November 1 if the federal government remains shut down; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to President Trump, the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, and members of the Michigan congressional delegation.