Topline
Food stamp payouts will be distributed for most states within a day of the government reopening, USDA spokesperson Alec Varsamis told Forbes, providing a timeline for the return of benefits almost two weeks after they were first suspended amid a historic government shutdown poised to end Wednesday.
SNAP funds lapsed at the start of November. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Key Facts
Varsamis told Forbes that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will be dished out “for most states” once the government reopens.
The House is soon expected to pass the appropriations bill needed to reopen the government, sending it to President Donald Trump, who will sign the bill, according to the White House.
Food stamp benefits have been in limbo for many eligible Americans, as the Supreme Court on Tuesday extended a pause letting the Trump administration keep the distribution of SNAP funds on hold.
Benefits have largely remained frozen since Nov. 1, when the USDA attributed the lapse in funding to the shutdown and claimed emergency funds could not be used.
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Big Number
42 million. That is roughly how many people use SNAP, making up about 12% of the U.S. population.