After more than 200 House Democrats sent a letter to Agriculture Department Secretary Brooke Rollins on Friday that urged her to release contingency funds to pay food-aid benefits for millions of low-income Americans, the department said those funds can’t be used.
“SNAP contingency funds are only available to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits,” a departmental memo reviewed by Barron’s reads. “The contingency fund is not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists.”
The contingency fund currently has around $6 billion, which would cover most of the $8 billion needed to pay November benefits. Democrats have asked the agency to “use its statutory transfer authority or any other legal authority at its disposal to supplement these dollars and fully fund November benefits.”
