Massachusetts SNAP Benefits inโ Limbo as Shutdown โBlame โgame Intensifies
A looming cutoff of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistanceโ Program) benefits isโฃ sparking a partisan battle in Massachusetts, as the federal governmentโ shutdown continues. Both Democrats โขandโข Republicansโข are โpointing fingers,with the potential for over 150,000 Bay State residents to see reduced or eliminated โขfood assistance.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has stated that contingency funds are โinsufficient to cover regularโ SNAP benefits during the shutdown, attributing the issue to Congressional Democrats’ refusal to pass โคa โ”clean continuing โคresolution” to maintain funding.
The situationโฃ has drawn sharp criticism from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who highlighted commentsโค made by Massachusettsโ Congresswoman Katherine Clark, the โHouse Minority Whip.Clark acknowledgedโ theโฃ suffering families would endure, stating that the shutdownโ represented “one of the few โleverage times we have” for Democrats. Johnson condemned her โขstatement, accusing Democrats ofโค prioritizingโ political gain over the needs โขof millions, includingโฃ those relying on SNAP and other โnutrition assistance programs.
Massachusettsโค senator Ed Markey countered by focusing on โคa privatelyโ fundedโค ballroom expansion project at the White House, contrasting โit with the potential โขfor families to struggleโ with food insecurity. He characterized the โคsituation as a “complete lack of conscience”โค from Republicans and โthierโ supporters.
Republicansโข have proposed legislation to fund SNAPโ payments duringโ the shutdown,but Democrats are seeking negotiations on healthcare issues,specifically enhancementsโ to the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits. The Healeyโ administration โhas alsoโ pointed โto the potential โคimpact of the “One Bigโข Lovely Bill Act,” championed by former President Trump, which they claim will furtherโ restrict SNAP eligibility and harm over 150,000 Massachusetts residents.
Efforts to pass a GOP-led government funding bill โคhave stalled inโฃ the Senate, requiring five additional โvotes to reach โtheโค necessary 60-vote threshold. Currently, Senators Johnโฃ Fetterman (D-Pa.), โCatherine Cortez Masto โฃ(D-Nev.), and Angusโ King (I-Maine)โฃ are the only members of the Democraticโฃ caucus supporting the bill.
Mike kennealy,โฃ a former GOP gubernatorialโข candidate inโ massachusetts, hasโ urged the state’s all-democrat โคcongressional โฃdelegation to end the “political theater” and reopen the government, emphasizingโค the harm to children and โฃthe disruption ofโ vital infrastructureโ projects. He labeled Clark’s “leverage” comment as “outrageous and โคabhorrent.”