The state of Maine is providing $1 million to hunger relief programs as the political impasse in Washington threatens funding for a federal food assistance program used by tens of millions of Americans.
Gov. Janet Mills announced Wednesday that she will provide $1 million from her office's contingency account while the John T. Gorman Foundation will chip in an additional $250,000.
Just over half of that money will flow to the Good Shepherd Food Bank, which supports food pantries and anti-hunger programs around the state. The remaining $600,000 will go to the statewide association for agencies on aging, AgeWise Maine, so that the local agencies can offer additional food through community dining programs, Meals on Wheels and other programs.
Mills said in a statement that "when the federal government fails, Maine will not."
"My administration is continuing to evaluate all options and push for solutions in Washington," Mills said. "One of the things I love about Maine is that we take care of each other, which is more important now than ever. I encourage Maine people to donate to your local food bank, check on your neighbors, and support your community in the face of significant hardship caused by this needless federal shutdown.”
Mills made the announcement just three days before federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is slated to run out because of the government shutdown. More than 40 million Americans, including 170,000 Maine residents, will not receive SNAP benefits — formerly known as food stamps — on Nov. 1 unless Congress acts.
The Trump administration has said that it is legally prevented from tapping into a roughly $5 billion SNAP contingency fund to pay the benefits starting on Nov. 1. But Democratic members of Congress have rejected that claim and accused the administration of using low-income Americans as pawns in a political chess match — an allegation that Republicans have also made against Democrats.
There is bipartisan support in the Senate for forcing the Trump administration to tap into an existing contingency account to pay SNAP benefits. Maine Sen. Susan Collins has joined 10 of her Republican colleagues into signing onto one GOP-drafted bill while Democrats are preparing to put forward their own measure. Independent Sen. Angus King supports forcing the Trump administration to tap into the contingency funds.
But it's unclear when or if any of those bills will be brought up on the Senate floor. And House Republican leaders have suggested they'll only call that chamber back to vote on reopening the federal government.
Meanwhile, Mills is "continuing to evaluate all options" to address the situation as the shutdown approaches the one-month mark. According to the Portland Press Herald, Mills told reporters at an event in Falmouth on Wednesday morning that she plans to talk with Maine legislative leaders about potentially calling state lawmakers back for a special session to consider dipping into Maine's roughly $1 billion Rainy Day fund to pay SNAP benefits.
Neither Mills' office nor the offices of House Speaker Ryan Fecteau or Senate President Mattie Daughtry responded to questions from Maine Public about whether that discussion took place on Wednesday or the outcome.
"The governor is looking at all available options to help Maine people who rely on SNAP and other programs interrupted by the federal government shutdown and press for solutions in Washington," Mills spokesman Ben Goodman said in a written statement. "The governor continues to urge Republicans who control the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, and the presidency to reopen the government and end this needless shutdown."
Fecteau and Daughtry each praised the governor's decision to tap into her office's contingency account.
"I am grateful for the governor’s work to ensure that — at least in the short term — Maine kids and families will be able to access the food they need despite the cruelty of the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans," Fecteau said in a statement. "Withholding federal food assistance and leaving 170,000 Mainers at risk of going hungry is unconscionable, and anyone who defends this tactic should be ashamed."
“I’m deeply worried about the many Mainers who depend on food assistance to stay afloat," Daughtry said in a statement. "It’s unconscionable that the federal government would use hunger as a bargaining chip. I’m pleased that the Governor has taken quick action to get Mainers fed, even as vital food and nutrition support are being held hostage by political games in Washington. At the same time, these funds are a temporary bandage to a catastrophic federal failure."
Maine's attorney general and others have sued the administration to force the distribution of SNAP benefits.
