HARTFORD – Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D–New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D–Norwalk) today called on Connecticut Republicans to join Democrats in demanding that the Trump administration immediately release over $5 billion in federal reserve Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding to sustain the program during the ongoing Republican federal shutdown.
The Republican-led U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it would not tap into the SNAP contingency reserve to support the program during the shutdown. This action is jeopardizing food assistance for more than 360,000 Connecticut residents and over 42 million Americans nationwide.
“Putting food on the table is a moral issue, not a cynical political calculation,” said Senator Looney. “The existence of this fund underscores that we are dealing with a manufactured crisis and that the federal government is willing to see people suffer despite having the resources to mitigate that, even during a shutdown. Connecticut families rely on SNAP to get through tough times. If the Trump administration refuses to act, Republicans here in Connecticut should have the courage to speak up and put people ahead of politics.”
“This is the first time in our country’s history that the President of the United States is willfully starving his own people,” said Senator Duff. “Trump is holding hungry families hostage to his chaos. There is over $5 billion sitting in reserve that could be released today but instead is being used to pressure Democrats to agree to Trump’s health insurance rate hikes. We call on our Republican colleagues to join us in demanding that the President release these funds immediately.”
Looney and Duff noted that Governor Ned Lamont has already announced $3 million in emergency state aid to Connecticut Foodshare to help fill the gap but said that “state funds can only go so far.”
“The federal government has the ability and the responsibility to prevent a hunger crisis,” the Senate leaders said in a joint statement. “This is a moment for Connecticut Republicans to show leadership and to demand action from their party’s standard-bearer in Washington.”
In a memo to state agencies, the USDA claimed that it cannot use the SNAP contingency reserve because those funds are only available to supplement benefits “when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits.” USDA argues that because Congress has not enacted a fiscal year 2026 appropriation, there are no existing benefits to supplement, and therefore, the contingency fund cannot be accessed.
However, that interpretation contradicts USDA’s own previously published shutdown contingency plan, which explicitly stated that the multi-year reserve funds “are also available to fund participant benefits in the event that a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year.” The plan further noted that “Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue” during a government shutdown. Legal and policy experts say the agency retains complete discretion to use the reserve to maintain operations and prevent a lapse in benefits, particularly given that the funds were established precisely to ensure continuity of essential nutrition programs in emergencies. Prior administrations—Republican and Democratic alike—have consistently used available funding sources, including the reserve, to prevent any lapse in benefits during shutdowns including the 2018–2019 Trump-era shutdown.
The issue of SNAP funding is a bipartisan one. According to CT Data Haven, Connecticut’s 11 Republican state senators will see 11,364 families in their districts lose $2.6 million a month in federal SNAP funding – nearly $86,000 a day.
Senator Families Affected
Martin 1,785
Sampson 1,600
Somers 1,232
Perillo 1,121
Gordon 1,088
Cicarella 1,029
Harding 998
Kissel 877
Berthel 711
Fazio 517
Hwang 406
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