[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 856 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 856
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United
States Department of Agriculture should use its contingency funds and
interchange authority to finance the supplemental nutrition assistance
program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 4, 2025
Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Mrs. Hayes, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Norton, Mr.
Landsman, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Tlaib, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Smith of Washington,
Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Moulton, Mr.
Mullin, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Magaziner, Ms.
Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Ivey, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Adams, Ms. Lee of
Nevada, Ms. Ross, Ms. DelBene, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Latimer, Mr. Tran, Mr.
Bishop, Ms. Chu, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Simon, Mr. Lynch, Ms. Titus, Mr.
Pocan, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Sorensen, Mr. Fields, Mr. Vargas, Mr.
Bell, Mr. Garamendi, Ms. Friedman, Mr. Olszewski, Mr. Cisneros, Mr.
McGarvey, Mr. Hernandez, Ms. Budzinski, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Carter of
Louisiana, Mr. Torres of New York, and Mrs. Sykes) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United
States Department of Agriculture should use its contingency funds and
interchange authority to finance the supplemental nutrition assistance
program.
Whereas, in 1964, Congress authorized the supplemental nutrition assistance
program (referred to in this preamble as ``SNAP'') to ``alleviate . . .
hunger and malnutrition'' and ensure that families would never go
hungry;
Whereas approximately 1 in 8 people in the United States rely on SNAP, and in
2024, SNAP helped approximately 42,000,000 people avoid hunger or
malnutrition, including about 16,000,000 children, 8,000,000 seniors,
4,000,000 people with disabilities, and 1,200,000 veterans;
Whereas, in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Congress appropriated
$3,000,000,000 to the SNAP contingency fund to remain available through
September 30, 2026, that would be ``placed in reserve for use only in
such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out
program operations'';
Whereas, in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025,
Congress appropriated another $3,000,000,000 to the SNAP contingency
fund for these same purposes, to remain available through September 30,
2027;
Whereas this contingency fund, which totals more than $5,000,000,000 following a
recent apportionment by the Office of Management and Budget of
$750,000,000, was created to ensure that SNAP funding would be available
to respond to emergencies, including a government shutdown, so that
children, seniors, and people of the United States who are at risk of
going hungry have access to food;
Whereas it is highly damaging for children to go without food and the ability of
children to learn in school is deeply damaged by persistent hunger;
Whereas, during the 2018-2019 shutdown in the first Trump administration, the
United States Department of Agriculture (referred to in this preamble as
the ``USDA'') said in guidance released in January 2019 that ``funding
is available from the contingency that can be used to provide benefits
for February'', though the shutdown ended before the contingency funds
needed to be used;
Whereas, on September 30, the USDA posted guidance on its website indicating
that SNAP ``has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can
be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can
also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown'' and that
``[t]hese multi-year contingency funds are also available to fund
participant benefits in the event that a lapse occurs in the middle of
the fiscal year'';
Whereas, earlier in 2025, the Government Accountability Office explained that
``SNAP is considered an appropriated entitlement, meaning that the
government is legally required to make payments to those who meet the
program requirements'' and ``USDA's liability [extends to] the
availability of appropriations for these payments'';
Whereas the Secretary of Agriculture has discretion under section 702(b) of the
Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2257) to
transfer funds within nutrition programs via interchange authority;
Whereas, in October 2025, the Trump administration used its interchange
authority to fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants, and Children (WIC); and
Whereas the people of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands who receive nutrition
assistance from the Nutrition Assistance Program block grants are
experiencing the same challenges because of the lapse in appropriations:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives
that--
(1) the Trump administration is legally obligated to fund
the supplemental nutrition assistance program (referred to in
this resolution as ``SNAP'') through the use of the contingency
fund;
(2) the Trump administration has the legal authority and
the funds to finance SNAP through the month of November;
(3) exercising this power is extremely important for the
health and wellness of families experiencing hunger, including
about 16,000,000 children, 8,000,000 seniors, 4,000,000 people
with disabilities, and 1,200,000 veterans; and
(4) the administration should immediately exercise its
legal authority to fund SNAP in November 2025.
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