Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a vocal Democratic critic of President Donald Trump during the federal government shutdown, mischaracterized the Trump administration’s actions related to food aid for low-income families.
“They’ve done something insidious, the federal government,” Pritzker said during an Oct. 30 press conference, responding to a question about the Supplemental Food Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, commonly called food stamps.
Pritzker said — accurately — that the Trump administration had decided against using emergency funds to pay for SNAP during the shutdown.
Then he added, “But they’ve done something even more insidious. They’ve decided to shut down the SNAP machines, so that they can’t be used.”
That last assertion is inaccurate. The U.S. Agriculture Department did not say it would shut down machines that accept the cards that SNAP beneficiaries use to pay for food. In fact, SNAP recipients pay for their purchases using the same machines that all customers use for credit and debit payments. There is no such thing as a separate “SNAP machine.”
The department had said it would stop paying monthly benefits starting Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown, which stems from the expiration of authority to spend federal dollars. But after a federal judge ruled that the government must continue to pay SNAP benefits, the Trump administration said it would use contingency funds to partially cover benefits.
Before the judge’s ruling, Pritzker issued an Oct. 30 executive order providing $20 million to Illinois food banks.
The status of SNAP and questions about who benefits from the program have been a divisive issue during the government shutdown, which started Oct. 1.
About 42 million people receive SNAP benefits. On average, participants receive about $190 a month for an individual, or $356 for a household. Recipients can use the benefits to buy fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, bread and other groceries.
Agriculture Department said households could continue to use prior benefits
People receiving SNAP benefits are given electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, cards that are loaded with money each month.
Spokespersons from the National Grocers Association and FMI – The Food Industry Association confirmed that, regardless of the shutdown, SNAP recipients would be able to use any remaining balances on their cards, and the machines will continue to process those transactions.
An Oct. 24 Agriculture Department notice to states also said households can continue to redeem benefits received prior to Nov. 1. That’s still the case.
A Pritzker spokesperson confirmed that the governor was referring to the payment process at grocery stores and that, at the time Pritzker spoke, the federal government was not planning to add new funds for recipients in November.
Court tells Trump administration to continue SNAP
After Pritzker spoke, U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island ruled that the federal government must issue the benefits during the first week of November.
The Trump administration told the court it would spend contingency funds to partially continue SNAP. The government said the $4.65 billion in the contingency fund would cover 50% of eligible households’ current payments. The Trump administration said it would send instructions to states.
After the ruling, Trump posted on Truth Social, “I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.”
Our ruling
Pritzker said the federal government “decided to shut down the SNAP machines, so that they can’t be used.”
Pritzker’s spokesperson said the governor meant that EBT cards would not be reloaded with new funding for November and that the cards wouldn’t work unless people had leftover money.
When the governor spoke, SNAP recipients were slated to have benefits halted. A subsequent court ruling prompted the Trump administration to say it will spend money from a contingency fund to give recipients partial payments for November.
However, Pritzker provided no evidence that the government had a plan or intention to shut down machines that also accept credit cards or debit cards for all consumers.
We rate this statement False.
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