by Joe Miller
Around one in every five residents of Pocahontas County relies on SNAP – the Supple- mental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – at some point during the year.
By now you’ve probably heard that November SNAP benefits will be delayed, due to the ongoing government shutdown. As we head into the month that ends with Thanksgiving – a holiday we typically celebrate by over-eating – many of our neighbors are left to wonder when they will be able to buy groceries again.
As I write this piece, it seems likely that the shutdown will reach the dubious distinction of being the longest ever.
I have spent most of my career working on policy, not politics. I don’t have any particular insights into how or when or under what conditions the standoff over the budget is likely to be resolved.
But this did seem like a useful time to talk about how programs like SNAP work and why the shutdown is affecting some programs but not others.
The first thing to note is that government spending is divided into three broad categories: Discretionary spending, mandatory spending and interest on the debt.
Interest on the debt is just what it sounds like. When the government spends more than it takes in, it makes up the difference by selling interest-bearing Treasury bills. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the government will spend around $952 billion on interest charges this year.
Mandatory spending accounts for about 60% of the federal budget. The biggest mandatory programs are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which collectively account for almost half of all federal spending. Other mandatory programs include veterans’ retirement and health benefits and most income security programs – including SNAP.
Spending on mandatory programs isn’t set by annual spending bills. Instead, various laws (for example, the Social Security Act of 1935) determine how benefits are paid, and those payments will keep happening as long as Congress doesn’t alter the underlying laws.
Discretionary spending makes up around 27% of the federal budget. Almost half of that is the defense budget. The remainder – about 14% of all spending – covers everything else the federal government does.
The Justice Department, Homeland Security, the Forest Service, the EPA, the National Weather Service, aid for farmers, student loans programs, scientific and medical research, funding for the arts and humanities, our diplomatic corps, museums, and the entire legislative and judicial branches – are all funded from that 14%.
Discretionary spending is theoretically funded through 12 annual appropriations bills. A committee in the House will draft and vote on a bill that then goes to the full House for a vote. The Senate takes up the bill once it passes the house, makes changes and votes on that bill. A joint committee from the House and Senate will hash out their differences, then send the compromise bill through for votes. The president signs the bill and that funds 1/12 of discretionary spending.
I say “theoretically” because that process rarely happens anymore. It’s become more common for legislators to fund everything through a single bill – called an omnibus.
And, in a lot of cases, they don’t even do that. The current showdown is over something called a continuing resolution. Those things essentially just carryover the previous year’s budget for a few more weeks or months.
So, you might be wondering: if SNAP is a mandatory program and the shutdown affects only discretionary programs, then why are benefits lapsing?
And that’s where things get a bit complicated.
SNAP payments are mandatory. But the SNAP program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the USDA has to spend a small sum of money running the program. That money is funded through discretionary spending and it ran out at the end of October.
There is some question as to whether delaying SNAP payments is legal. Critics of the administration note that the program has emergency funds that are intended for precisely this situation. The question will play out in the courts over the next few weeks.
But in the meantime, payments to SNAP recipients are delayed.
Governor Patrick Morissey has authorized an additional $2.5 million to assist during the interruption, and the National Guard began distributing food to local food banks over the weekend – including here in Pocahontas County.
Americans have a long history of giving generously to those less fortunate, particularly during the holidays.
I’d encourage those who are able to consider making a donation to the Pocahontas County Family Resource Network a few weeks earlier than usual.
