The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors will vote on whether to give $50,000 to local food banks to help meet the demand for food assistance in the face of the government shutdown.
The board announced Thursday that it will take up the issue during its Nov. 18 meeting, after it was unable to get the item onto the Nov. 4 agenda.
If approved, the funds would be allocated from the Community Development Fund to the Community Services Agency and then distributed to local food banks.
“Over 94,000 residents rely on food assistance programs, and many families in our community are struggling to put food on the table due to the delays in federal food assistance programs,” said District 4 Supervisor Mani Grewal. “This funding is a direct way we can help bridge the gap, support our local food banks, and make sure no family goes hungry this season.”
Just this week, the United Samaritans Foundation announced that for the first time it was forced to turn people away while delivering its end-of-the-month emergency food boxes.
“I’m so sick of hearing about the government shutdown,” said District 2 Supervisor Vito Chiesa. “It’s time for these federal legislators to come to their senses. They’re only hurting the poorest in our communities and nobody else.”
In the meantime, federal judges in Boston and Providence ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must continue to pay for SNAP, the nation’s biggest food aid program, using emergency reserve funds during the government shutdown, now in its 32nd day.
“I’ve spent my whole career working across the aisle,” said Rep. Adam Gray (D-Merced), a member of the state legislature for 10 years before winning election in the 13th Congressional District last year. “I’m not afraid to meet with anybody or talk to anyone, because working together is how we get the best outcomes, and I think the American people are super disappointed to have to watch this.
“But Republicans decimate programs in their bill, then turn around and pretend like they care about the programs they’ve decimated. It’s the hypocrisy of this whole thing that’s driving me crazy.”
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-El Dorado Hills), who, like Gray, represents a portion of Turlock, had a different take.
“The bill that was passed on Sept. 19 is the same bill that would open the government,” said McClintock, a nine-term congressman who represents the 5th Congressional District. “But Democrats are blocking it over demands for $1.5 trillion in additional spending. Adding a trillion and half dollars to our national debt is insane. And the American people are clear on two points: they don’t want a shutdown and they don’t want additional spending. Yet, that’s what Democrats are demanding.”
Back from a week abroad, Trump threw himself into the shutdown debate, calling on the Senate to scrap the filibuster and reopen the government, an idea swiftly rejected Friday by Republican leaders who have long opposed such a move.
Trump pushed his Republican Party to get rid of the Senate rule that requires 60 votes to overcome objections and gives the minority Democrats a check on GOP power. In the chamber that’s currently split 53-47, Democrats have had enough votes to keep the government closed while they demand an extension of health care subsidies. Neither party has seriously wanted to nuke the rule.
“THE CHOICE IS CLEAR — INITIATE THE ‘NUCLEAR OPTION,’ GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER,” Trump wrote in a late night social media post Thursday.
Trump’s sudden decision to insert himself into the shutdown is certain to set the Senate on edge. It could spur senators toward their own compromise or send the chamber spiraling toward a new sense of crisis. Or, it might be ignored.
“Frankly,” said Gray, “the president ought to show more leadership.”
In Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell ruled from the bench in a case filed by cities and nonprofits that the program must be funded using at least the contingency funds. He asked for an update on progress by Monday.
There were similar elements in the Boston case, where U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled that the USDA has to pay for SNAP, calling the suspension “unlawful.” She ordered the federal government to advise the court by Monday as to whether they will use the emergency reserve funds to provide reduced SNAP benefits for November or fully fund the program “using both contingency funds and additional available funds.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program starting today, because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown. The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. It costs about $8 billion per month nationally.
The administration did not immediately say whether it would appeal the rulings.
States, food banks and SNAP recipients have been bracing for an abrupt shift in how low-income people can get groceries. Advocates and beneficiaries say halting the food aid would force people to choose between buying groceries and paying other bills.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that America is witnessing the “end of the Democratic Party.”
“Even some Democrats are now saying that out loud,” said Johnson. “You can see it in their interviews. I watched one last night. All this is directly related to the Democrats’ shutdown show.”
Gray did not mince words when giving his opinion of Johnson’s comments.
“I don’t even think that’s a serious comment,” said Gray, who was one of more than 200 members of Congress to sign a letter urging the Secretary of Agriculture to utilize contingency SNAP funds — a move essentially backed up by the courts’ rulings. “I wouldn’t take anybody seriously that says something so stupid. The Speaker is a clown.”
McClintock was equally direct when asked what his message would be to those who were turned away by USF when attempting to get food boxes.
“I’d say they should call their senators and tell them to end this shutdown,” McClintock said. “It’s not hard. In fact, it’s about as easy as it could be.”
— The Associated Press contributed to this article
