Supreme Court Decides Complete Snap Food Benefits Can Be Paused for Now.
America's top court has granted an urgent ruling that permits for now the federal government to delay billions of dollars for nutrition assistance used by countless needy U.S. residents.
Administration officials sought relief from the country's highest court after a federal judge ruled that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called food stamps, should be paid out completely to recipients by the end of the week.
The programme has been caught in uncertainty by the ongoing federal government shutdown, with the government arguing it could only pay for part of it.
The court's decision means £3.04bn can be held back for now pending further legal hearings.
Programme Impact
The Snap programme is issued by 42 million Americans - around one in eight - and costs almost £6.9bn a each month.
On Thursday, a Rhode Island judge, the presiding judge, alleged the government of blocking nutrition funds "for political reasons" and said that without the aid "millions of kids are immediately at risk of facing hunger".
He ordered the administration to pay out the assistance in full.
Court Proceedings
This decision followed another that ordered the administration to dip into reserve money to at least partially fund the assistance for last month.
The legal saga was spurred after the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Snap programme, stated payments would be halted in November due to the lack of funding over the shutdown.
Prior to the high court's action, the USDA said it was attempting to follow with the multiple rulings and was making efforts to distribute the full funds.
Supreme Court Action
Supreme Court Justice Justice Jackson issued the stay on Friday evening, known as an administrative stay, pausing the previous decision for 48 hours while federal attorneys seek to overturn it.
The row over nutrition program money has become among the most contentious of what is now the longest government shutdown in US history.
Wider Effects
Federal employees have been unpaid for over 30 days and air travel has been thrown into chaos as Congress members cannot reach a deal to pass a budget.
Some states have drawn on their own budget savings to keep food benefits flowing, which are worth around six dollars to recipients via electronic benefit cards which can be redeemed in grocery stores.
However, certain states have said they are cannot cover the money which has been lost from the federal government.
