Because of the shatdaun millions of Americans can be left without food stamps and benefits - ForumDaily
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Because of the shatdaun millions of Americans can be left without food stamps and benefits

The ceiling of Betty Gay's house in the countryside in Kentucky is so bent that she periodically hits her head on the chandelier. When it rains, the retired nurse's assistant covers the bathroom floor with towels, inserts buckets, and the walls are covered with mold because of moisture.

Фото: Depositphotos

70-year-old Gay expected to receive a loan of 20 000 dollars from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) this winter to patch a hole in the roof of the house in which she lives for 30 years. But the issuance of money is suspended, writes The Washington Post.

The agency is unable to process the application of Gay, because his employees went on forced leave because of the shatdaun. Processing of applications for USDA loans from thousands of low-income, rural Americans who relied on this loan to buy or build a house has also been suspended.

The partial closure of the government continues for the third week, and the consequences will be most noticeable for those who barely make ends meet. These consequences will be even more severe if key government institutions remain closed after February 1 and in March. At risk: food for millions of low-income families, rental subsidies and other social protection programs.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said that the shatdown could take several months or even years if Congress did not approve funding for the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico.

Under pressure, the Trump administration this week announced support for one of the most important pillars of America's social safety net, the food stamp program (SNAP), which provides food to 38 million Americans. Funding for this program was supposed to end at the end of January, and due to the shutdown it could not be extended. But on Tuesday, Agriculture Commissioner Sonny Perdue said the agency would use a little-known budget provision that would allow the agency to give states money to provide Food Stamp Benefits in February. According to him, the regions will receive money to ensure the operation of this program until January 20.

Purdue also assured that funding for other food aid programs, including school meals and a program for mothers and young children, will be extended to February. A special nutritional program for women and children (WIC) provides food, baby food and breastfeeding support for 7,3 to a million mothers and children under the age of 5.

But officials cannot promise that these social programs will continue to operate if the Shatdaun lasts until March. The food stamp program has a reserve of 3 billions of dollars, which covers less than two thirds of the 4,8 billions of dollars allocated to running this program on a monthly basis.

Starting in March, families receiving food stamps may face a decrease in their allocated funds of at least 90 dollars per month, or almost 40%, if we assume that the agency will evenly distribute the deficit of 1,8 billion dollars between 19 millions of families receiving benefits for SNAP program.

The USDA has not yet clarified what they intend to do if the Shatdaun lasts so long. Human rights advocates for fighting poverty have said that when reserve funds for SNAP are over in April, the food aid program is likely to be closed altogether.

Already, more than 2500 stores in the US no longer accept food stamps, since their SNAP licenses were not renewed until the shutdown that began on December 22.

The government shutdown has also cut off funding for cash benefits from a program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). It helps the 3,4 million poorest Americans, most of whom are children. For now, states have shouldered the financial burden of the program—the $4,2 billion they were expected to receive from the Department of Health and Human Services to run the program from January through March. To cover these costs, states use previously unspent federal money, as well as regional funds.

If the government does not fully open until February 1, almost 270 000 rural families who receive federal rental housing subsidies through the USDA will also be at risk of eviction because their homeowners will no longer pay.

Another 2,2 of a million low-income households that receive rental assistance may be in danger of being evicted in March, when the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) voucher program finishes.

Local affordable housing agencies will also stop receiving money to manage more than 1 million public housing units in March, if by that time the shatown does not stop.

And 100 000 low-income tenants are already in danger, because HUD does not have staff during a shutdown to extend at least 1150 affordable housing contracts that expired in December. This means that apartment owners will not be paid, and now they may face problems with paying mortgages and the need to use their reserves.

HUD officials reported that some employees were called to work in order to find payment options to tenants, however, those contracts that expired after December 22 will remain suspended until the shatdown is terminated and it is impossible to make payments on them. The agency said another 500 contracts expire by the end of January and another 550 in February.

HUD also said that the shatdaun could cause serious delays in paying for disaster relief, which the agency lists to residents of Puerto Rico, Florida, and to a number of other places.

Shatdown has hit the Native American tribes particularly hard, since many of the basic services they receive, including medical services, depend on federal funding, which is a legacy of their contractual agreements with the US government.

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