President Donald Trump’s administration said that SNAP payments will be partially funded.
The administration had a Monday deadline to tell federal judges whether it would meet the court orders that required the government to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, The Associated Press reported.
Initially, it was not known how much would be paid or when the payments would occur.
But it appears that beneficiaries will get about 50% of “eligible households’” monthly stipend from an emergency reserve, The New York Times reported.
The average monthly benefit is around $190 a person and it can take up to two weeks in normal situations to load the benefit cards. Both the federal government and state governments have a part in the process to provide the funding.
The Justice Department said in the filing on Monday that the administration would “fulfill its obligation to expend” from the reserve so states could “calculate the benefits available for each eligible household," the Times reported.
About 42 million Americans, or about 1 in 8 people, get SNAP benefits, a program managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, The Washington Post reported.
It issues about $90 billion in benefits a year, or about 9% of all grocery spending, according to the newspaper. Most recipients are children, people over the age of 60 or people with disabilities.
Some states added money to the benefit cards using state funds, others gave more aid to food banks, the AP reported.
The lapse in payments, which were to go out over the weekend, was due to the current government shutdown, which has reached its 34th day, according to the AP.
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