What’s happening with SNAP benefits because of the government shutdown? скачать в хорошем качестве

What’s happening with SNAP benefits because of the government shutdown?

(ASSOCIATED PRESS) — The crises at the heart of the government shutdown fight in Washington were coming to a head Saturday as the federal food assistance program faced delays and millions of Americans were set to see a dramatic rise in their health insurance bills. The impacts on basic needs — food and medical care — underscored how the impasse is hitting homes across the United States. Plans by the Trump administration to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Saturday were halted by federal judges, but the delay in payouts will still likely leave millions of people short on their grocery bills. It all added to the strain on the country, with a month of missed paychecks for federal workers and growing air travel delays. The shutdown is already the second longest in history and entered its second month on Saturday,. “This is more than a crisis,” said the Rev. John Udo-Okon, who runs the Word of Life Christian Fellowship International food pantry in the Bronx, where hundreds more people than usual lined up in the New York City borough as early as 4 a.m. Saturday to collect groceries. “Right now, you can see the desperation, you can feel the frustration that the people are going through.” But back in Washington, there was little urgency to end the government funding impasse. Lawmakers are away from Capitol Hill and both parties are entrenched in their positions. The House has not met for legislative business in more than six weeks, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., closed his chamber for the weekend after bipartisan talks failed to achieve significant progress. Thune said he is hoping “the pressure starts to intensify, and the consequences of keeping the government shut down become even more real for everybody that they will express, hopefully new interest in trying to come up with a path forward.”