New Mexico and other states are spending millions supplementing SNAP. Will they be reimbursed?

A day after New Mexico leaders announced the state would temporarily cover the cost of food assistance benefits for more than 20% of the state’s population, residents and state officials alike were still taking stock of the unprecedented move.

While Democrats and Republicans have taken turns accusing each other of causing the looming freeze of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, elected officials from both parties have expressed support for the stopgap funding.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it will not reimburse states like New Mexico for spending millions to fill in the gap on SNAP funding, but Democratic legislators are pushing for future reimbursement.

“This is a federal obligation, so we will be pushing back on the USDA position,” said U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps 460,000 New Mexicans buy groceries each month, but the program is set to run out of money Saturday because of the government shutdown, delaying November benefits. The USDA does not plan to use its roughly $5 billion contingency fund to pay November benefits, a decision that sparked a lawsuit from more than 20 states.

Albuquerque resident Reina Chavez said she was approved for SNAP benefits two months ago after losing her job. Though she recently found work at the Salvation Army, she said she expected to keep getting food assistance through November to get fully back on her feet.

“I was scared because I rely on it,” Chavez said of SNAP benefits being at risk. “I need it. I was hungry and I had no income.”

Other states’ approaches

New Mexico is among a growing group of states that plan to use state funds to ensure the food assistance benefits that low-income residents receive are not interrupted.

In previous shutdowns, there has been a commitment to states that they will be reimbursed or clear guidance for states about what to do next, as well as a commitment not to interrupt SNAP, said U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn.

“We need to push to make sure those states are reimbursed, but also that we continue to have this set aside contingency fund with clear guidance on how it is to be used, so that if we are ever in a situation like this, hungry families will not be operating in fear not knowing what happens next,” Hayes said.

In addition to New Mexico, Vermont and Louisiana are among the states that have announced plans to foot the bill for SNAP benefits during the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Louisiana’s Republican Gov. Jeff Landry announced his state’s $150 million plan on the same day Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said New Mexico would spend up to $30 million to cover SNAP benefits for up to 10 days if the shutdown continues.

Specifically, Lujan Grisham signed 40 executive orders this week that, combined, free up the $30 million in emergency state funding to pay for SNAP benefits.

But Lujan Grisham said she might call legislators back to Santa Fe for a special session if the federal government shutdown continues beyond mid-November.

Some states are not redirecting money to pay out SNAP benefits directly but are using state dollars to support food banks.

More than 757,000 Oregon residents rely on SNAP. The state’s governor has declared an emergency in response to the SNAP delays and directed $5 million to assist food banks.

California has an estimated 5.5 million residents who rely on SNAP benefits. The state is fast tracking up to $80 million and deploying the National Guard to support food banks, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week.

Partisan finger-pointing

Several Republican legislators said Thursday they support New Mexico’s short-term funding approach.

“While the federal shutdown is the direct result of Democrat games in Washington, our state shouldn’t let our most vulnerable citizens pay the price,” said Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park.

But Lord also said the state’s high SNAP enrollment rate — the state’s enrollment rate is the nation’s highest — underscores the need for better schools and more job opportunities.

New Mexico Republicans also continued to criticize the state’s two Democratic U.S. senators — Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich — for voting against a GOP-backed plan to reopen the federal government.

“They’re playing politics when they should be putting New Mexicans first,” said Sen. Jay Block, R-Rio Rancho.

Luján said the shutdown could end now if Republicans were willing to have a meaningful negotiation.

“Under the previous administration, a Democratic president with Democratic majorities in both the Senate and the House, there was not a shutdown because we negotiated,” Luján said.

The senator introduced a bill that would fund SNAP and a related program, the USDA’s {span}Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC,{/span} and guarantee reimbursement to states, on Wednesday.

Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., blocked a vote on it, calling Luján’s bill “a transparent admission that Democrats want to keep the shutdown for what? Another month? Longer?”