The Michigan Senate passed a $71 million dollar spending bill Thursday to provide some food assistance in the absence of federal SNAP benefits next month.
At the same time, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and House Republican leadership announced a plan to use $4.5 million in state money for the Food Bank Council of Michigan.
Payments under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are scheduled to stop next month due to the federal government shutdown. The U.S. Department of Agriculture told states to withhold their November payments.
Neither the Senate legislation nor the plan from the governor and state House leadership would come close to funding all of the SNAP benefits that are set to end in two days. Estimates suggest it would cost over $200 million to cover Michigan’s 1.4 million SNAP recipients for November alone.
State Representative John Roth (R-Interlochen) said the $4.5 million is just a start to make sure the state doesn’t overspend right away.
“If we appropriate $600-900 million right away and we get a government opening back up a week from now, what have we done? So, we’ll be evaluating this every single week going forward,” Roth said.
While Roth said the governor’s action doesn’t need legislative approval, the Senate legislation will.
State Senator Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) sponsors the bill. She said the bill is a “stop-gap measure” for low-income Michiganders.
“What we’re doing today is not a permanent fix. Our resources are limited but we have a responsibility to provide for the people of this state,” Anthony said during a floor speech.
The bill would put $50 million toward a new emergency assistance fund for the state health department to figure out how to “raise the food-purchasing power of low-income individuals and households.” That wouldn’t cover all of Michigan’s SNAP recipients.
Another $20 million would be evenly split between emergency food bank grants and the Michigan Agricultural Surplus System, which gives low-income Michiganders surplus produce.
Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said she trusts the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to figure out the best way to get that money to people in need.
“They have the data, they have the mechanism, they have the relationship with those households. So, we’re giving them pretty broad leeway to figure out what is the best way to do that, but also bolstering that food ecosystem that anybody can take advantage of,” Brinks told reporters after Senate session Thursday.
The bill passed by a 27-4 vote, with Republicans mostly joining Democrats in favor of it.
State Senator Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater) was among the Republicans who crossed the aisle, though he said it was a Democratic “bluff,” since it couldn’t take effect by Saturday when SNAP payments will stop going out.
“People need to understand this is all political theater,” Lindsey said.
But Brinks said there will still be a need for help after November starts.
“It only begins on (November 1), and it continues to grow after that,” Brinks said.
House Republican leadership has already derided the legislation and said it won’t go forward. Instead, Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) is highlighting the governor’s spending plan as the best way to go.
During a press conference Thursday, he resisted the idea of providing Michiganders with direct payments to make up for missing federal funds.
“We can’t fund SNAP and cover for the federal government,” Hall said.
Separately, federal court held a hearing Thursday in a multi-state lawsuit to have the USDA use contingency funds to keep funding SNAP. That could potentially allow SNAP benefits to continue flowing without the state needing to step in further.
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