SNAP fully funded, Healey says, as she urges residents to use benefits

Local News

Gov. Maura Healey tore into President Donald Trump, saying he made a choice to “starve Americans.”

SNAP benefits for people in Massachusetts are fully funded again, Gov. Maura Healey said Monday. She urged residents to go out and buy the groceries they need, and to tune out the “noise” from Republicans in Washington. 

Healey’s comments came after a weekend full of fast-moving developments surrounding SNAP, the federal program that helps more than a million Massachusetts residents buy their groceries.

During the longest government shutdown in American history, the Trump administration has refused to use reserve funds to keep SNAP funded. Over the weekend, it demanded that states “undo” actions meant to deliver SNAP benefits. Attorney General Andrea Campbell and a coalition of 22 other attorneys general filed a temporary restraining order to prevent the Trump administration from clawing back the SNAP benefits that were already issued. Campbell’s office said Monday that a federal judge ordered a temporary block of the federal government’s directive.

“The president may have made a choice to starve Americans, but I’m not going to let that happen here in Massachusetts,” Healey said at a press conference in the State House Monday afternoon. 

A range of resources for people facing food insecurity are available through the state’s website. A fund set up by the Healey administration and United Way to help food pantries amid the SNAP uncertainty has raised more than $5 million and is still taking donations, Healey said. 

The Trump administration wants to escalate the issue back up to the Supreme Court and prevent the full funding of SNAP. However, the request will not be needed if the government reopens, The New York Times reported. 

Congressional leaders appear to be nearing a breakthrough that could end the shutdown this week. Eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus voted Sunday night to advance a bill that would end the shutdown. In response, Republicans reportedly committed to holding a Senate floor vote next month on legislation that would extend Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. GOP leaders have so far refused to extend these. 

If they are not extended, some 330,000 Massachusetts residents will see their health insurance costs “skyrocket” on Jan. 1, Healey said. 

“Frankly, this is a disaster. It’s coming at a time when people can least afford it. This is the result of a decision and a choice that Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have made, putting their own political agenda over the needs of their constituents,” she said. 

Audrey Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, said that her team is hearing “palpable frustration” and worries from residents who will not be able to pay those increased prices. 

Healey voiced concerns about federal workers going without pay and other disruptions caused by the shutdown, saying that she was glad to see news that it could be nearing an end. But she is also concerned that a deal could be reached without actually securing an extension of the ACA credits. 

“I don’t know how much more the American people can take,” Healey said. “The president promised that he was going to lower costs. Grocery costs are higher than ever. He has done nothing but create chaos and uncertainty.”