Letter to Sonny Perdue, Department of Agriculture Secretary - Rep. Delgado Calls for Answers on Stalled SNAP License Renewals During Government Shutdown

Letter

Dear Secretary Perdue:

I am deeply concerned by the government shutdown's negative impact upon the viability of the Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). I urge your Department to immediately extend expired licenses for the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card program for the duration of the shutdown so that no American will go hungry.

Though I was relieved to learn that your Department funded SNAP benefits through February, these benefits are of little comfort to Americans who depend upon a limited number of vendors to accept their EBT cards. Benefits that cannot be redeemed are of no use to a beneficiary.

As you know, authorized SNAP vendors must renew their licenses with your Department every five years. Recent news reports indicate that more than 2,500 vendors need to renew their licenses but are unable to do so during the shutdown because your Department has deemed the renewal process to be non-essential. These vendors cannot accept EBT cards until their licenses are renewed.

At least one of the affected vendors owns a grocery store in my District. After accepting EBT for more than 20 years, his store's EBT machine suddenly stopped processing payments on December 27. Most of his customers are locals, and the nearest grocery store is some distance away. In addition, many are elderly--making it difficult for them to travel elsewhere to redeem their SNAP benefits.

Those vendors who have attempted to reach your Department about this issue have been told that their applications are on hold until funding is restored. Tens of thousands of Americans who depend upon SNAP benefits to feed themselves and their families now find it more difficult to put food on their tables. The risk is especially acute in the "food deserts" found in both rural and urban areas--harming most those Americans who depend upon a single SNAP-authorized vendor in their vicinity to accept their EBT cards.

I also urge you to consider the severe economic damage done to the thousands of authorized SNAP vendors who are currently losing business as their renewal applications are stalled. In particular, farmers market vendors--who are now applying for EBT licenses for the fall season--are at risk of missing out on the $24.4 million in SNAP benefits that were redeemed at farmers markets last year.

I ask that you commit to extending EBT certifications during the remainder of the shutdown. To do so, I urge you to designate your Department's SNAP processing function as an essential service. While government shutdowns always cause everyday Americans to suffer, no man, woman, or child in our nation should struggle to find food because of a lapse in government funding.

Sincerely,

Antonio Delgado

Member of Congress

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