Peters & Slotkin Call on Trump Administration to Immediately Release SNAP Benefits to Ensure Michiganders Can Access Needed Food Assistance

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Elissa Slotkin (MI) joined their colleagues in calling on U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to release the billions of dollars currently at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) disposal to ensure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits continue to be administered in November. The letter comes after the Trump Administration threatened to freeze Americans' SNAP benefits - despite having available funds - due to the ongoing government shutdown. The SNAP program provides needed food assistance to help families in Michigan and across the country afford groceries.

"We were deeply disturbed to hear that the USDA has instructed states to stop processing SNAP benefits for November and were surprised by your recent comments that the program will 'run out of money in two weeks.' In fact, the USDA has several tools available which would enable SNAP benefits to be paid through or close to the end of November," the senators wrote.

The senators continued, "Americans are already struggling with the rising cost of groceries, and they cannot afford a sudden lapse in grocery assistance. We urge you to immediately communicate to states and committees of jurisdiction the USDA's plans to disburse the contingency funding to state agencies and utilize all available legal authorities so that American families can get benefits without interruption. Democrats remain at the table and ready to negotiate reopening the government."

The letter reiterated that USDA must, at a minimum under the law, use the contingency funding that is available for SNAP, as noted by USDA officials. The senators also highlighted that USDA has interchange authority under 7 U.S.C. 2257 that permits the transfer of funds from other USDA nutrition programs. This authority was recently used by the USDA when it transferred money from child nutrition programs to the WIC account to maintain WIC benefits during the shutdown.

In Michigan alone, more than 1.4 million people are at risk of losing their SNAP benefits if the USDA does not utilize available funding to continue the program. In June, Republicans and President Trump passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law, which cut $186 billion from the SNAP program. In August, Peters and Slotkin helped the Senate pass the bipartisan Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,which would fund SNAP for the year. This bill has stalled in the House of Representatives, which has not held votes on the legislation or been called into session since September.

To view the full letter, click here.

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