Winners and losers of government shutdown deal head to House
Not everyone got what they wanted in the government shutdown deal passed by the Senate.
WASHINGTON – Four days a week, Tuesday through Friday, Leah Skinner gets out of bed early, gets her autistic son ready for school, takes his medication, and heads to her job as a shift manager at McDonald’s.
Skinner, a single mother who requested her middle name be used to protect her privacy, has been working since she was 16. But after experiencing two coronavirus infections and two severe heart attacks, he no longer has the stamina to handle the nine- to 12-hour shifts he used to regularly put in. She now works five-hour shifts and relies on $300 to $400 in food stamps each month to supplement her income.
This month, my food stamps didn’t arrive. Instead, they received notice that their benefits would not be paid because the federal government was shut down due to a funding battle between Republicans and Democrats in Washington. Without food assistance, she said, people would have to rely on food bank assistance, meaning they wouldn’t get the vegetables, protein and fiber they need to eat heart-healthy meals and manage diabetes.
“It’s like a chess game and they’re using us as pawns,” Skinner, who lives in Palmer Lake, Colorado, said of the funding battle in Washington. “We are the most sacrificed piece on the board and the least important.”
Those injured are “a lot of hardworking people who need help,” she said.
Approximately 42 million Americans receive monthly food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. But after funding for the program ended in November for the first time in its 60-year history, many recipients are wondering how they will put food on the table.
The Trump administration told recipients last month that they would not receive full benefits in November because Congress had not approved funding for anti-hunger programs due to the government shutdown. States, cities and nonprofits have filed suit, but the case remains in court.
The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday, November 12, to give final approval to a bill that would end the 43-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. The reopening of the government will allow the flow of SNAP funds to resume, but it is still unclear when benefits will be available.
The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to continue withholding $4 billion in funding for the program during the government shutdown, and the case is still being heard by the high court, which is scheduled to hear it on Thursday, Nov. 13.
For seniors and low-income Americans who rely on monthly food assistance, the fight over SNAP benefits is worrying. Some people received part of their November stipend. Some people don’t receive it at all.
Cuts are forcing many people to look for ways to stretch their grocery budget or choose between medicine and food.
Dennis Stinson, who has epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, lives with his sister in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She survives on Social Security payments of $1,138 a month and SNAP benefits of about $180 a month. But this month, no SNAP benefits showed up.
Stinson, 69, tries to eat healthy foods like fresh vegetables and protein, but she had to change her diet because she didn’t get her monthly SNAP allotment.
“I’m eating more things like pasta because I can’t afford the delicious food that I would normally have,” she said. “It’s not in a bad condition yet, but I don’t know what will happen if this situation continues.”
Stinson suffers from short-term memory loss and tremors due to Parkinson’s disease. A few years ago, she had an epileptic seizure while cooking, spilled hamburger gravy in a skillet on her leg, suffered severe burns, and spent three weeks in the burn unit. She worries that the stress of losing her SNAP benefits will cause her seizures to occur more frequently.
“This whole mess has made me very sensitive,” she said.
Marcia Gamber, a SNAP recipient who lives in Weberville, Michigan, was forced to live with her sister six years ago after tripping over a cat and falling down the stairs, breaking both her legs. Her leg never healed properly, and she underwent a series of surgeries and setbacks, including an infection, septic shock, and a heart attack that damaged her kidneys and lungs. She uses a walker to hobble around the house most days and uses a wheelchair when she needs to go outside or go long distances.
“It could be much worse,” she said. “I might die too.”
Gamber, 61, used to work in the insurance industry, but has been unable to work since the accident. She spent four months in the hospital, lost her home and car, and depleted her retirement savings and investments. She currently lives on an additional guaranteed income of $967 a month. By the time she pays her bill, she has only $11 left.
Gamber received $290 a month in SNAP benefits. But last week, she received notice that her SNAP payments would be reduced to $130 a month under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a tax cut signed by President Donald Trump in July. Advocacy groups estimate that the measure would reduce SNAP funding, which is used to pay for tax breaks, by $186 billion over the next 10 years.
“I’m not going to starve like a lot of people, but if you only get $130, you’ve reached that point,” she said. “I thought, ‘What should I make soup from?'” After all, soup can last up to a week. ”
Gamber’s SNAP benefits typically arrive on the 15thth Therefore, it is not yet known whether you will receive partial benefits or none at all. She believes the Trump administration needs to change the perception of people receiving social assistance benefits, whether it’s SNAP, SSI or Medicaid.
“You feel betrayed, you feel invisible, you feel judged,” she said. “They’re not lazy, awful people like we’ve been labeled. Poverty is not a moral flaw. It’s not a character flaw. Most people are here because they’ve been through situations that were beyond their control.”
Skinner, a shift manager at McDonald’s, said she has stopped talking to people who think they are leaving the program because they receive food assistance.
“I can’t believe we live in a country where it’s okay to starve others,” she said.
Michael Collins writes about the intersection of politics and culture. He is a veteran reporter who has covered the White House and Congress. Follow him on X: @mcollinsNEWS
