Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul speaks about Drug Take Back Day April 19, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Wisconsin is among 25 states to sue the USDA to stop the Nov. 1 benefits cutoff.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Josh Kaul and 22 other attorneys general and three governors filed a lawsuit seeking the Trump Administration to use emergency funds to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
SNAP, known in Wisconsin as FoodShare, helps more than 40 million Americans buy food. In Wisconsin, about 689,000 residents – including 170,000 children and 110,000 individuals over the age of 60 – receive FoodShare benefits each month. Nearly 4,500 Wisconsin retailers accept FoodShare payments.
The lawsuit argues that the USDA will be failing to use available emergency funds and suspending SNAP benefits despite the availability of contingency funds that Congress has appropriated for emergencies like this.
“Millions of Americans, including children, seniors, and veterans, are on the verge of losing access to the food assistance they rely upon,” said AG Kaul. “No one should have to go hungry because of dysfunction in our federal government.”
The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring USDA to use available emergency funds to maintain FoodShare benefits and prevent a lapse in payments.
While the federal government funds and sets the monthly amount of SNAP payments, states are responsible for administering the program. The coalition argues that suspending SNAP payments during a shutdown is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. The coalition is also filing a motion for a temporary restraining order asking the court to immediately turn payments back on.
Joining AG Kaul in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington; and the Governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.
The federal government shutdown is now the second-longest in U.S. history, just days away from becoming the longest in U.S. history. The longest shutdown was 35 days during President Trump’s first term.
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