STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — New York is fast-tracking tens of millions of dollars in emergency food funds to help feed the millions of state residents who are set to potentially lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits later this week as a result of the ongoing federal government shutdown.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the federal government directed states to withhold issuing SNAP benefits for the month of November<\/a> unless the government shutdown has been resolved.<\/p>\n That means nearly three million New York residents who receive SNAP benefits, including 121,536 in Congressional District 11, which covers Staten Island, could lose access to them beginning Nov. 1.<\/p>\n With that in mind, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that she is fast-tracking $30 million in state funds to support more than 16 million meals, with the governor noting this would be the first time in U.S. history that a federal administration has halted food assistance during a government shutdown.<\/p>\n \u201cI am doing everything in my power to soften the blow of the destruction Republicans in Washington are inflicting on our state,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cWhile I\u2019ve said repeatedly that no state can backfill these devastating cuts, I am committed to ensuring New Yorkers do not go hungry this holiday season and am taking action to support the families suffering the consequences of Republicans\u2019 cruelty.\u201d<\/p>\n While Hochul and other Democrats continue to criticize the Trump administration\u2019s refusal to release federal funding to maintain SNAP benefits during the shutdown, Republicans are blaming Democrats for allowing the shutdown to continue.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis called on Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand<\/a> to deliver the votes necessary to end the government shutdown, which began Oct. 1 after representatives were unable to reach an agreement while passing a bill to allocate funds.<\/p>\n Republicans proposed a short-term funding bill through Nov. 21, but many Democrats argued that it failed to address critical health care concerns.<\/p>\n Specifically, Democrats are pushing to reverse Medicaid cuts included in President Donald Trump\u2019s summer legislation<\/a> and to extend tax credits that help millions afford health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Republicans dismissed the demands, estimating the cost to taxpayers would exceed $1 trillion. As of now, both sides remain firm and without compromise.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no reason for this to continue and we call on Senator Schumer to do the right thing, vote for the same bill you voted for four times before, the same bill that you negotiated and you\u2019ve extended three times,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n On Friday, Malliotakis penned a letter<\/a> to Hochul urging her to call on Schumer and Gillibrand to help put an end to the shutdown before SNAP benefits are impacted later this week.<\/p>\n \u201cStarting November 1st, low-income, elderly, and disabled SNAP recipients could begin to go without food assistance as a result of Senate Democrats\u2019 decision to shut the government down. These benefits are not abstract figures, they represent families striving to make ends meet, children who rely on consistent access to healthy food, and seniors who would otherwise face hunger,\u201d wrote Malliotakis, a Republican who represents Staten Island and parts of South Brooklyn.<\/p>\n \u201cWe respectfully urge you to use your voice and leadership to encourage Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to support a clean continuing resolution that keeps the federal government funded at existing levels. Doing so will ensure that programs like SNAP and WIC continue uninterrupted, protecting New York\u2019s most vulnerable residents and preventing needless hardship for families who can least afford it,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — New York is fast-tracking tens of millions of dollars in emergency food funds to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18880,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[6506,469,9,24,49,63,7153,134,136,135,1069,6648],"class_list":["post-18879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-federal-cuts","tag-harlem","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-state","tag-nyc","tag-rally","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news","tag-trump","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}