Vermont leaders agreed Wednesday to use state dollars to pay for food benefits that have been jeopardized by the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Gov. Phil Scott and four lawmakers who sit on the state’s Emergency Board voted Wednesday to spend $6 million to ensure that 65,000 low-income residents continue receiving food benefits for the first two weeks of November.
“This is a basic benefit that many, many Vermonters rely on, and we just thought it was necessary to move forward in some way,” Gov. Phil Scott said.
After some initial uncertainty about whether the state could transfer funds onto beneficiaries’ existing electronic benefits cards, officials now say that it will be possible to backfill the funds with only a possible delay of a couple of days.
The panel also agreed to provide an extra $250,000 to the Vermont Food Bank to help food shelves keep up with the increased demand created by anxiety over the future of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which locally is known as 3SquaresVT.
Scott originally proposed paying half the benefits as well as boosting support of food shelves. He said he’d hoped to supplement the benefits one week at a time to ensure the state won’t waste money unnecessarily should the shutdown ended suddenly.
Democratic lawmakers argued that people need to receive 100 percent of their usual amount, noting that food prices are high and the benefits usually only make up a portion of a recipient’s total food needs.
“This seems like a really important use of state dollars — feeding people,” said Rep. Emilie Kornheiser (D-Brattleboro).
Officials said they plan to use robocalls and other measures to reassure people that their benefits will continue.
Aware that the Trump administration might cut federal funds to states, lawmakers set aside $50 million in additional rainy day funds. That decision turns out to have been wise, said Rep. Theresa Wood (D- Waterbury).
“I think Vermonters rely on us to be prudent in our planning, and the legislature has done that,” Wood said.
With most people receiving less than $200 a month in benefits, Scott said, it became clear to him that “any less amount would impact them dramatically.”
Scott stressed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the SNAP program, made it clear that states should not expect to be reimbursed for extending people’s benefits. Scott declined to say how long the state could continue paying the benefits, noting, “It’s a lot of money for us.” He also acknowledged that this is exactly the kind of reason that the state sets aside emergency funds.
“I’m not willing to say we’re not going to take care of people,” Scott said.
According to a multi-state lawsuit that Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark has joined, Congress has already set aside $6 billion in reserves for the SNAP program, meaning USDA officials could continue the funding if they chose to do so.
“From my perspective it is an incredible act of cruelty that they have been shut down,” Kornheiser said. “It is capricious and unnecessary.”
The board will meet again in mid-November to consider extending the benefits again if the government remains shut down.
The chart below offers a county-by-county look at where the Vermonters who rely on 3SquaresVT live.
