N.M. Delegation Presses USDA to Refund New Mexico $30 Million for Shutdown Food Stamps Lapse

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins to demand that the Trump Administration reimburse New Mexico $30 million for the emergency state funds used to protect hardworking New Mexicans' from a lapse in their November food assistance during Trump's government shutdown.

The N.M. Delegation is demanding accountability for New Mexico taxpayers from the Trump Administration after the USDA purposefully withheld New Mexicans' SNAP benefits, which the USDA had the legal obligation to fund during Trump's shutdown.

"Funding SNAP is a federal responsibility, and New Mexican taxpayers should not be penalized for your failure to fulfill your duty," the N.M. Delegation wrote. "No state should have to raid their own budgets to fix a problem the administration created. In New Mexico, this failure placed more than 450,000 SNAP recipients at immediate risk of going without the food assistance they rely on each month."

The full text of the letter is here and below here.

Dear Director Vought and Secretary Rollins:

We write to demand full and immediate reimbursement to the State of New Mexico for the $30 million it was forced to reallocate to provide food assistance to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients for the month of November during the federal government shutdown. Funding SNAP is a federal responsibility, and New Mexican taxpayers should not be penalized for your failure to fulfill your duty.

During the shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) refused to issue SNAP benefits despite having sufficient funding and transfer authority available to issue full benefits. After multiple court orders, USDA eventually allowed states to issue benefits, but their repeated appeals and conflicting guidance caused further delays and confusion - leaving more working-class Americans needlessly hungry every step of the way. New Mexico's governor did what the administration would not: she kept children, seniors, and people with disabilities fed. No state should have to raid their own budgets to fix a problem the administration created. In New Mexico, this failure placed more than 450,000 SNAP recipients at immediate risk of going without the food assistance they rely on each month. Fortunately, the State of New Mexico stepped in and provided $30 million in food assistance to prevent a hunger crisis, protect vulnerable households, ensure continuity across local food systems, and sustain local economies.

This was not the only federal responsibility New Mexico has been forced to shoulder. In addition to the $30 million stopgap for SNAP, the state had already reallocated $162 million to protect residents who would have lost Medicaid coverage and Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits because of the Republican tax law. These programs - SNAP, Medicaid, and ACA subsidies - are core federal obligations, and no state should be forced to backfill federal programs. New Mexico acted responsibly under extraordinary circumstances, and it must not bear the long-term financial burden for failures at the federal level.

Congress has already made its intent clear. The Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act includes explicit language under Section 118 authorizing reimbursement to states that used their own funds to cover programs "that would have been paid" by the federal government during the shutdown. The directive is unambiguous: USDA and OMB are required to repay states in full.

We therefore expect USDA and OMB to move quickly to restore New Mexico's funds and execute the reimbursement without delay. The federal government has a duty to make New Mexico whole, and we insist that responsibility be met immediately.

We stand ready to assist in ensuring this directive is carried out and expect timely confirmation that New Mexico's reimbursement is being processed.

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