ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today released the following statement regarding SNAP benefit impacts due to the federal government shutdown:
“In a letter dated Oct. 10,
the Trump Administration directed the State of Maryland not to issue SNAP benefits. The Trump Administration is also choosing not to release contingency funding for the program, as required by law. As a result, SNAP benefits are likely not to be deposited on EBT cards beginning Nov. 1 and 680,000 Marylanders who rely on SNAP to eat—including nearly 270,000 children—stand to go hungry.
“During previous shutdowns,
the State of Maryland received reimbursement for federal expenses incurred from critical programs. The Trump Administration has provided zero assurance that our state will receive reimbursement—even if Maryland were to cover SNAP benefits in the absence of federal funding. And as recent history has shown, President Trump’s targeted attacks on Democratic priorities, programs and states only further diminishes our confidence in being made whole.
“Despite
turning the State of Maryland’s $3 billion deficit into a $321 million structural surplus earlier this year, grave fiscal uncertainty lies ahead stemming from the reckless actions of President Trump. The Maryland Treasury holds roughly $3.5 billion in short-term cash to help bridge reimbursable federal expenses and myriad other State expenses, but we do not have confidence that the Trump Administration will reimburse us—not only for SNAP, but for
any federal programs that may suffer for the duration of this senseless shutdown.
“As I have long said—there is no balance sheet to make up for when the federal government just decides to tell states, ‘You’re on your own.’ In Maryland, we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure the federal government follows the law and provides funding for the critical services that our families, our children, and our veterans rely on.”