WASHINGTON — Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) today joined 45 of his colleagues in writing a letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins calling on the USDA to release billions of dollars at its disposal to ensure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits continue in November.
923,400 Arizonans—including 378,162 children—receive SNAP benefits. Nationwide, approximately 42 million Americans rely on this critical program. As it stands, if the current government shutdown extends into November, nutrition assistance would not be issued.
The senators began, “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.”
“First, the USDA must, at a minimum under the law, use the contingency funding that is available for SNAP, as noted by USDA officials. Second, the USDA has interchange authority under 7 U.S.C. 2257 that permits the transfer of funds from other USDA nutrition programs. In fact, 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,” wrote the senators.
The senators continued, “In the event that more resources are needed than what is available in contingency funding, the USDA should explore all legal means to augment funds to pay the full amount of SNAP benefits in November. 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.”
The full text of the letter can be found HERE.
10/23/25