(The Hill) — Democrats and Republicans are pushing dueling bills to keep Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits funded through November, as the government shutdown threatens to cease the distribution of benefits on Saturday.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Tuesday said her department is legally prohibited from tapping into its contingency fund to keep SNAP benefits funded. It will cost the department $9.2 billion to fund SNAP benefits through November, funds that Rollins said the department does not have due to the shutdown.

SNAP provided benefits to about 41.7 million Americans in fiscal 2024, according to a monthly average calculated by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). That year, the government spent $99.8 billion on SNAP, a monthly average of $187.20

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