The memo also appears to contradict the department’s shutdown plan released in late September, when it referred to the contingency fund as part of its SNAP plan.
“Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown,” the shutdown plan said. “These multi-year contingency funds are also available to fund participant benefits in the event that a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year.”
The Agriculture Department said Friday it can’t use a special reserve fund to pay food stamp benefits during the partial government shutdown because the money is meant to be used when appropriations fall short, not when the funding doesn’t exist.
I’d argue the source below is higher quality but got moderated for being substack:
The government is doing a lot of things it “can’t” do. This is one of those times I would say “do it anyway, and worry about the consequences later”, because it’s objectively a net help for people.