Government Shut Down Could End Food Stamps In October
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Purchases with Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards (also known as Food Stamps) might end in October 2015. That's because the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), could run out of funding for the program if Congress cannot agree on a temporary spending bill to avoid a government shut down.
According to the latest U.S. Government revised data from SNAP, the number of Floridians on food stamps was 3.6 million in June 2015. Florida food stamp enrollment grew 3.4% while the national rate declined by 2.1% when compared to June 2014. Nationwide, 45.5 million Americans use food stamps.
“On a week when the Pope is making an historic visit to Washington to remind us all of our moral obligation to care for the poorest and most vulnerable among us, it is shameful that we are even contemplating a politically-driven shutdown that would take food off the tables of millions of children, seniors, and disabled Americans,” said Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, the Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. “It’s time for our colleagues across the aisle to finally get to work and make sure millions of Americans don’t go hungry.”
