By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- Attorney General Kris Mayes is asking a federal judge to order the Trump administration to use $5 billion in a contingency fund to ensure that nearly 900,000 Arizonans get their November allotment of food stamps.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday by Mayes and other Democratic colleagues, contends that Congress gave the U.S. Department of Agriculture the specific permission to use the dollars in that account for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as it is known, in any case there was a government shutdown.
And as of Tuesday there was no progress -- nor even negotiations -- to restart various programs and services that were halted when there was not a new federal budget agreement by Oct. 1.
Agency officials countered in a statement that this is a problem only because Senate Democrats "continue to hold out for the Far-Left wing of the party.''
But they also provided Capitol Media Services with a memo which contends those funds "are not legally available to cover regular benefits.'' Instead, the USDA says it is meant for other types of contingencies, like purchasing food benefits for individuals in disaster
areas.
"The agency is now lying and the Trump administration is flat-out lying,'' Mayes responded. And she said there are other memos from the agency saying that the dollars that were set aside could be used in exactly this kind of situation.
"These contingency funds have been used in the past for just this type of situation, in the middle of a shutdown, to make sure that our families don't go hungry,'' Mayes said. "And this administration changed its tune I think within the scope of a month. So it's head-spinning the way they're lying.''
Mayes and her colleagues from other states are asking a federal judge in Massachusetts to order the USDA to furnish the SNAP benefits that already have been calculated for November.
Less clear is how quickly U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, a 2013 appointee of Barack Obama, could act, given that the benefits disappear beginning Saturday. Mayes said she is optimistic.
"We have had situations where judges take things up within 24 or 48 hours,'' Mayes said. Still, she said even if there is a court order within days, there still might be a gap as there are "issues in the bureaucracy around SNAP that makes it difficult to quickly get it jump-started again.''
Mayes said there are some short-term options while awaiting a ruling.
One would be for the state to tap the $1.6 billion in the state's "rainy day fund.'' That would more than cover the approximately $161 million in benefits that otherwise would be paid out to Arizonans in November, with the average monthly benefit about $360 for a family.
Gov. Katie Hobbs, who is a Democrat like Mayes, has the power to call lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session. But even if she did that, it remains doubtful that the Republicans who control both the House and Senate would agree.
The governor's press aide sidestepped the question of whether she is willing to ask the Legislature to tap what is formally known as the "budget stabilization fund.''
"The governor's office is considering all available options and examining creative solutions to mitigate the damage done by reckless Washington Republicans,'' said Christian Slater.
"But the state of Arizona cannot afford to backfill the over $150 million in food assistance the federal government sends to the people of Arizona every month,'' he said, not addressing the $1.6 billion in the bank. Instead, Slater said, his boss believes the Trump administration should use the USDA's own contingency fund to pay those November costs.
Anyway, what Hobbs thinks about a special session may be irrelevant.
"The rainy day fund is for unexpected downturns, not Washington gridlock,'' said House Speaker Steve Montenegro. Instead, the Goodyear Republican said the state needs Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, its two Democratic senators, to vote to end the shutdown and stop "siding with the far Left of their party, hurting Arizona families.''
There was no immediate response from Senate President Warren Petersen.
Mayes acknowledged that, absent a solution in Washington -- and soon -- having the state pick up the cost "would probably chew through the rainy day fund.''
"`But for one month, to make sure that people can feed their families ... yes, I think that using some of the rainy day funds is totally reasonable,'' she said.
The attorney general backed that up with the fact that one in every eight families in Arizona gets SNAP benefits. And in Apache and Gila counties, she said, half or residents get food stamps.
Politics of getting legislative action aside, there also is a financial risk to the state of picking up where the federal government is dropping the ball. The USDA, in its memo, said there is no provision in federal law for states that cover the cost of benefits to later get reimbursed.
Mayes, however, said the lawsuit should give her time to litigate the issue of reimbursement and see if the federal judge will order the feds to backfill any funds spent by the state.
At the heart of the shutdown is the stalemate in Washington about the fact that the House-passed version of the budget, backed by President Trump, curtails subsidies that have been available to those who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Senate Democrats refuse to approve the plan saying that premiums will skyrocket for many, making the cost of care unaffordable.
Only thing is, there are only 53 Republicans in the 100-member Senate. And with 60 votes needed in that chamber for approval, there is no deal -- and no budget.
"Arizonans should not ever, ever be used as a bargaining chip while Donald Trump plays politics,'' Mayes said.
But the attorney general brushed aside a question of whether the pending loss of food stamps for so many in Arizona and elsewhere could have been avoided and still could be avoided if Senate Democrats -- including Gallego and Kelly -- agree to support a "continuing resolution'' to keep government open and programs funded while lawmakers and the president negotiate the issue of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act.
"This is an administration that has been willing to lie in the past about funding the government,'' she said, only to turn around and do "pocket recissions,'' essentially a presidential order overturning congressional authorization to make funds available.
"I think Mark Kelly, Ruben Gallego and the Democrats in Congress are doing what they have to do,'' Mayes said. Anyway, she said, there's no reason for them to back down, at least not now, since there is that contingency account at USDA.
Hobbs has so far been reticent to have the state play any role in providing food benefits.
"Arizona doesn't have the capacity to backfill that,'' the governor told Capitol Media Services last week. Instead, she said she is looking to others outside of state government.
"We're going to really count on our nonprofit social service community step up and be partners,'' she said.
One of the primary sources of relief could be the food banks around the state which already have said they are stressed because of economic conditions and some federal employees being furloughed or fired outright during the shutdown. But Mayes said that's not realistic.
"For every meal that a food pantry provides, SNAP provides nine meals,'' she said. "So we aren't just talking about a one-to-one missed meal that can be easily replaced.''
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