Horsford: Pausing SNAP Despite Emergency Fund is a Choice
October 30, 2025
Lawmaker Urges Administration to Protect SNAP Recipients Immediately
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins urging her to use the $6 billion contingency fund for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) before benefits end on November 1st for more than 42 million vulnerable Americans.
“As we enter the holiday season, House Republicans are on their fifth week of a taxpayer-funded vacation and America’s largest food assistance program is about to shut down,” Rep. Horsford said. “Congress created the contingency fund to prevent this exact crisis – the administration’s ongoing refusal to use it contradicts Congressional intent and worsens food insecurity for half-a-million Nevadans who depend on SNAP. The politics of incompetence and cruelty must end. When Trump and Republicans control all branches of government, this isn’t merely an unfortunate series of events – this is their plan.”
Congress created the SNAP contingency fund to ensure operations could continue during lapses in appropriations. Both the Government Accountability Office and prior shutdown contingency plans – including one issued during President Trump’s previous administration – affirm that these funds are legally available to pay benefits during a lapse in appropriations.
Key letter excerpt:
A lapse in benefits would harm one in eight Americans – and in my home state of Nevada, one in six. Such a failure would not only endanger already hungry households but would also send shockwaves through entire communities. Yet, despite having both the clear statutory authority and the available funding to provide relief, your Department has chosen to withhold these critical benefits at the direction of President Trump. I am deeply concerned by your refusal to release the funds necessary to sustain SNAP beginning November 1, 2025.
The threat to SNAP comes as the program is already experiencing deep cuts as a result of the Republican’s “Big Beautiful” bill in July. Approximately 4 million people in a typical month will lose some or all of their SNAP food benefits once the GOP’s changes are fully implemented, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
On October 24th, Rep. Horsford led a letter to Governor Lombardo signed by his fellow Nevada Congressional Democrats, Reps. Titus (NV-01) and Lee (NV-03), urging he do everything within his power, including calling for a Special Session of the Legislature, to protect SNAP recipients.
Nevada’s Attorney General, Aaron Ford, has also pushed to protect SNAP recipients in the Silver State. Earlier this week, he joined 25 other Attorneys General in a lawsuit to force the Trump administration to use SNAP’s emergency fund.
Full text of Rep. Horsford’s letter to Secretary Rollins is available here.
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Issues:EconomyPublic Safety