Media Contact:
Colleen Barton
cbarton@frac.org
703-203-7843
Statement attributable to Crystal FitzSimons, president,
Food Research & Action Center
WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2025 – Tonight, the president signed the funding bill passed by Congress, ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Millions of Americans can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are on the way. FRAC urges the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and states to quickly deliver benefits and alleviate the harm.
It remains shocking that the administration did everything it could during the shutdown to keep much needed food assistance from reaching those in need. USDA could have, and should have, acted decisively to ensure that SNAP benefits continued uninterrupted. Instead, the administration went as far as the Supreme Court – to keep SNAP benefits out of the hands of those in need. This unnecessary and harmful decision left millions of Americans hungry and in limbo.
Moving forward, Congress and the federal government must take steps to guarantee that essential nutrition assistance continues without disruption even during a shutdown. For example, the funding package replenishes the SNAP contingency funds from the prior fiscal year (FY), but does not provide enough funding to cover a full month of benefits in future years, nor does it include language to ensure that the administration cannot block food assistance as it did during this shutdown. Without action, we risk a repeat of what just happened.
This shutdown has shown the importance of SNAP in meeting the nutritional needs of the 42 million people who rely on the program to put food on the table. It is clear that people cannot go without benefits, and that states cannot carry the weight of increased costs and administrative burdens.
Yet, the harmful provisions in H.R. 1 threaten the very infrastructure of SNAP and include devastating cuts that will reduce benefits for millions and cause others to lose access to the program completely. The law’s cost-share provisions shift SNAP costs to states and counties, reducing the federal share of administrative funding to 25 percent by FY 2027, and for the first time, requiring states to pay a portion of benefits beginning in FY 2028, tied to administrative error rates in delivering benefits.
Many states will likely experience increased error rates due to the lack of or conflicting guidance provided by USDA during the shutdown, which left states confused and scrambling to issue benefits. Already struggling with staffing shortages and complex federal reporting requirements, states were forced to recalculate benefits multiple times based on shifting USDA instructions. Each change meant new programming, new math, and new delays — all the while families waited in grocery lines with empty cards.
Action is needed now to right these wrongs.
Congress and the administration must protect and restore SNAP to ensure that millions of people, our economy, and our country, can thrive. This starts with repealing the harmful provisions in H.R. 1.
###
The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) improves the nutrition, health, and well-being of people struggling against poverty-related hunger in the United States through advocacy, partnerships, and by advancing bold and equitable policy solutions. To learn more, visit FRAC.org and follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky.