WASHINGTON (AP) — The crises at the heart of the battle over the government shutdown in Washington came to a head Saturday as the federal food aid program faced delays and millions of Americans saw their health insurance bills rise dramatically.
The impact on basic needs — food and medical care — highlighted the impact the impasse is having on households across the United States. The Trump administration’s plans to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Saturday were halted by federal judges, but the delay in payouts is still likely to leave millions of people unable to pay their grocery bills.
This all added to the strain on the country as federal workers’ paychecks missed for a month and air travel delays increased. The shutdown is already the second longest in history and entered its second month on Saturday, yet there was little urgency in Washington to end it. Lawmakers are distant from Capitol Hill and both parties are entrenched in their positions.
The House has not met on legislative issues in more than six weeks, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., closed its chamber for the weekend after bipartisan talks failed to make significant progress.
Thune said he hopes that “the pressures begin to intensify, and that the consequences of a prolonged government shutdown become even more real for everyone who expresses them, and hopefully a new interest in trying to find a way forward.”
The standoff appears increasingly untenable as Republican President Donald Trump demands action and Democratic leaders warn that an uproar over rising health insurance costs will force Congress to act.
“This weekend, Americans face a health crisis that is unprecedented in modern times,” New York Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said this week.
Delays and uncertainty surrounding SNAP
The Agriculture Department planned to withhold payments for the food program starting Saturday until two federal judges ordered the administration to do so. Trump said he would provide the money but wanted further legal instructions from the court, which would not happen until Monday.
Benefits have already experienced delays, with SNAP cards taking a week or longer to reload in many states.
“People are just nervous and scared,” said Jill Corbin, director of the St. Vincent De Paul soup kitchen and pantry in Norwich, Connecticut. “It’s not a really clear answer that we have right now.”
As people lined up early Saturday for scorching meals and groceries, the organization provided 10 additional volunteers to lend a hand the newcomers navigate the process. On Wednesday, around 400 families attended the food distribution and 555 people received scorching meals.
“It’s like everything unravels at the same time,” Corbin said. “I’m not going to lie. It’s a challenge.”
The SNAP program serves about one in eight Americans and costs about $8 billion per month. The justices agreed that the USDA needed to draw on at least an emergency fund of about $5 billion to keep the program running. However, this created some uncertainty as to whether the department would employ additional money or only provide partial services for the month.
“The Trump administration must follow the law and resolve this issue immediately, working closely with states to get food assistance to the millions of people who need it as quickly as possible,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said in a statement after the ruling.
Democrats called for cutting state funding this week, but Republicans responded by arguing that the program is in such a dire situation because Democrats have repeatedly voted against a short-term state funding bill.
“We are now reaching a breaking point because Democrats have voted no on federal funding 14 times now,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said at a news conference Friday.
Trump waded into the debate overdue Thursday by suggesting that Republican senators, who hold the majority, should end the shutdown by abolishing the filibuster rules that block most legislation from advancing unless it has the support of at least 60 senators. Democrats have used the filibuster for weeks to block a funding bill in the Senate.
Republican leaders quickly rejected Trump’s idea, but the discussion showed how desperate the fight has become.
Health care subsidies are ending
The Affordable Care Act’s annual health insurance enrollment period also begins Saturday, and the cost of coverage is rising sharply. Expanded tax credits that lend a hand most enrollees pay for their health plans are set to expire next year.
Democrats have pushed for an extension of those loans and have refused to vote for a federal funding bill until Congress acts.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., spoke on the Senate floor this week about constituents who she says will face premium increases of up to $2,000 a month when the loans expire.
“I’m hearing from families in my state today who are panicking,” she said. “The time to act is now.”
If Congress doesn’t extend the credits, subsidized participants will face cost increases of about 114%, or more than $1,000 a year on average, the nonprofit health research organization KFF found.
In the days before open enrollment began, Democratic officials across the country warned that the cost increases would hit their voters challenging.
In Wisconsin, for example, families with the ACA’s silver plan could see premium increases of about $12,500 to $24,500 per year, depending on location. 60-year-old couples could expect increases ranging from nearly $19,900 to $33,150 per year.
“No matter what the percentage is, it’s a heck of a lot,” said Gov. Tony Evers, D-Wis.
Some Republicans in Congress have been open to the idea of expanding subsidies, but they also want to make significant changes to the health care reform passed during the administration of Democrat Barack Obama. Thune has offered Democrats a vote on extending benefits but has not guaranteed an outcome. And he demands that Democrats first vote to reopen the government.
So the country is waiting for Congress to act.
TJ McCuin, whose family owns and operates farmers markets in Mesa and Apache Junction, Ariz., said 15% of the markets’ customers employ SNAP benefits. He didn’t expect the delays to hurt the company immediately, but added: “Hopefully this isn’t a long-term problem because once these benefits run out, it will start to hurt.”
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Haigh reported from Norwich, Connecticut. Associated Press writers Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
