Over 1 million Mass. could lose SNAP benefits as shutdown drags on

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About 1.1 million Bay Staters could lose food benefits at the end of next week, and Gov. Maura Healey capped the week by ringing the alarm bell in the midst of a federal government shutdown that's boiling over in D.C. and reverberating across the country.

"Anytime before, when there has been a government shutdown, food benefits continued because they're essential. Americans need access to that food to be able to live," Healey said Friday during a press conference at Nubian Markets in Roxbury. "President Trump is making a choice, because right now, sitting in Washington, is a contingency fund of billions of dollars that the president can use to make these funds available next week to relieve the anxiety that so many people are experiencing around the country, including in Massachusetts."

Massachusetts receives about $240 million monthly for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, according to Healey, who said that no state can backfill the assistance that comes from the feds. At least 25 states will stop delivering food aid on Nov. As Republicans and Democrats can't agree on government funding bills, the U.S. Department of Agriculture instructed state SNAP directors to hold off on taking the steps necessary for November benefit payments.

Children account for 32% of those receiving SNAP benefits in Massachusetts, people with disabilities 31% and seniors 26%, Healey said Friday, adding that she has asked the Trump administration to release the funds and calling for donations to a new response fund the state developed with United Way.

Congressional Republicans suggest SNAP benefits are threatened because Congressional Democrats won't pass the GOP's stopgap spending bill. Democrats are pointing to significant SNAP cuts Republicans already passed in July's One Big, Beautiful Bill, The Hill reports.  

The SNAP alarms drew a press conference from Sen. Ed Markey and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley in East Boston Friday morning, as well as a statement from House Speaker Ron Mariano. While the Legislature "has provided millions of dollars for food assistance programs, SNAP benefits are entirely funded by the federal government, making it impossible for state government to replace them," the Quincy Democrat said.

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The federal shutdown concerns don't exist in a SNAP silo. 

In a legislative response to the now-24-day shutdown, the Senate on Thursday added a Sen. Lydia Edwards measure to its $2.3 billion fiscal year 2025 closeout budget that would provide eviction protections to federal workers impacted by shutdown. There are more than 25,000 federal civilian workers in Massachusetts, many of whom have either been furloughed or are working without pay. 

The Senate also awkwardly addressed concerns about federal immigration officials wearing masks while on duty and during arrests to conceal their identities. A Sen. Rebecca Rausch amendment would have barred law enforcement officers acting on behalf of local, state or federal law enforcement agencies from wearing facial coverings while on duty, with certain exceptions. 

"The fact that we are at a moment when an amendment titled 'No Secret Police' is filed speaks far more volumes than I could convey in a floor speech," Rausch said, adding that the Senate is looking into the "substance" of the amendment. "I look forward to us getting this right, because there is terror on our streets and we should be doing everything we can to push back on the fear our constituents are feeling."

Senate Democrats at first rejected the Rausch amendment before Rausch was successful in scrubbing the vote from the record and then withdrawing her amendment altogether. 

Asked before the session about the measure, Senate President Karen Spilka said the chamber "is incredibly concerned about what is happening around our state, with ICE coming in with masks, some of them no identification. Residents fearful. I mean, they think they're being kidnapped."

It’s almost like the 1930s Germany here in Massachusetts and across our country. And that is just not acceptable," Spilka said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently announced the results of "Operation Patriot 2.0," during which ICE officers arrested 1,406 people across Massachusetts due to their immigration status between Sept. 4 and 30. Immigrant advocates said this week the escalating raids are adding to the fear already plaguing immigrant communities, and are only amping up the urgency with which they say lawmakers need to pass a bill often referred to as the "Safe Communities Act," which would bar local police and court officers from inquiring about immigration status and prohibit local cooperation with ICE unless required by law.  

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The Senate spending bill did include the same House-introduced measure that attempts to stabilize the state's floundering Health Safety Net program, which supports providers treating uninsured patients, by increasing the statewide hospital assessment by $50 million. Senators also co-signed a House plan withholding the majority of the about $162 million requested for sheriffs by Gov. Maura Healey to cover costs and instructing the Inspector General to investigate the sheriffs' finances. 

The Senate went a step further than the House by proposing to implement a fiscal control board that would review sheriffs' finances on a monthly basis "to guarantee fiscal and operational integrity," Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues said. The bill empowers the board to appoint a receiver.

The Massachusetts Sheriffs Association said that the funding shortfall is much lower than the $162 million figure after some errors in the original numbers were straightened out, and that the funding needs reflected in the closeout "stem from those state obligations — not from overspending or mismanagement."

Notably missing in the Senate budget bill is any funding related to hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Sens. Patrick O'Connor and Paul Feeney underlined Thursday is expected to bring in two million visitors to the region next summer. Massachusetts has provided the least amount of money of any other U.S. city hosting matches, O'Connor said, calling on Boston and the state to step up, and suggesting that the state's ability to respond to the hosting responsibility will have "generational ripple effects."

Another developing picture: New approaches to legislating and the size of bills. Mariano said this week that the House now has an appetite for smaller bills as opposed to megabills. As the House and Senate decide the right balance between small and omnibus bills, they've notably mostly passed spending bills this session while each chamber has dealt with items on its own respective agenda — larger items like the House's cannabis regulation and industry reform bill and the Senate's data privacy reform bill remain in limbo.

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Andover Rep. Tram Nguyen entered the race for the seat Congressman Seth Moulton is giving up as a result of his run for Senate against Ed Markey.

He only has 24 hours in the day, like the rest of us, but MBTA Chief Phil Eng maintained this week that he is capable of also executing a second full-time job as the state's secretary of transportation.

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SONG OF THE WEEK: Bracing for SNAP benefits to cease, the state is seeking private donations as it enters "SOS" mode.

KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller's guest is Rep. Seth Moulton. They discuss age and term limits for politicians, as well as the Middle East ceasefire and his run for Senate.

@ ISSUE SIT DOWN: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard interviews Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who launched her reelection campaign this week.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. The guest is Rep. Jake Auchincloss.

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