1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

Two federal judges have ruled that the Trump administration must use USDA contingency funds to sustain SNAP benefits during the ongoing government shutdown. However, the Trump administration has indicated they will only pay out 50% of SNAP benefits owed in November and that distributing them could take weeks or months. The over 40 million, or roughly 1 in 8 Americans, who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits stopped receiving aid on November 1, despite the availability of contingency funds that would keep people fed. You need to protect Virginians by pressuring Trump to use all available funds to keep SNAP benefits flowing for the 850,000 Virginians who receive benefits in our state. Starving people to score political points during a government shutdown is cruel and causes needless suffering.