It’s estimated that 12% of American households will be directly impacted by a SNAP funding lapse. In Montgomery County, 13.5% of households are on SNAP, compared to 9.5% and 18.4% of households in Butler and Clark counties, respectively.
On Wednesday, Senate Democrats proposed amending a bill to authorize the state of Ohio to use its near-$4 billion “rainy day” or Budget Stabilization Fund to continue funding SNAP benefits in Ohio in the event of a federal lapse.
Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, who proposed the amendment, said it would cost the state about $263 million a month to fund a stopgap. His proposal would have pressed the federal government to reimburse Ohio for the funds, though any federal reimbursement would be optional.
Republicans unanimously argued that it is not the state’s responsibility to make amends for the federal government’s dysfunction, and that using the state’s budget stabilization fund to pay for social programs is outside the fund’s intended purpose.
The most vociferous argument against the proposal came from Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, who called it “appalling.”
“It’s appalling because it fails to recognize why we have this problem, why we are in this fix in the first place, and where the solution lies,” Cirino said. “It’s not the federal government, it’s not the White House, it’s not the Congress in total. It’s the Senate Democrats, except for one. They lit this fire, and now they want us to bail them out and put out the fire.”
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, argued that finger-pointing fails to alleviate a problem that will soon hit tens of thousands of Ohio households, in red and blue districts alike.
“One of the most frustrating things about politics is that there are those who fall in the crossfire,” said Sen. Willis Blackshear, D-Dayton. “But we must ask ourselves as elected officials: What are we gonna do to make sure that nobody goes hungry?”
The amendment was voted down by the Senate along party lines, 23-to-9. Democrats put up a similar proposal in the House, which was also shot down by the controlling Republican supermajority.
After the vote, Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, characterized the shutdown to reporters as “ridiculous” and “far too long.” He placed responsibility for the shutdown on U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY.
“There’s no reason we should be in this situation; there’s no reason this should be even up for debate here in the chamber today,” McColley said. “This is something that Washington, D.C., the Democrats in the United States Senate, need to get in the room, fix it, and then continue negotiations on whatever priorities they have on a going-forward basis.”
A similar proposal, debate and result played out in the Ohio House. Afterward, House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn and a slate of Democratic lawmakers called on Gov. Mike DeWine to declare a state of emergency and look for solutions. “This is about as big an emergency as we’re going to see,” Isaacsohn said.
“One point four million Ohioans stand to lose their SNAP benefits this Saturday. And when those cards come up empty, that means 580,000 children will not be getting enough to eat,” said Isaacsohn. “Two hundred thousand seniors, 45,000 veterans rely on those benefits for their basic access to food.”
The office of Gov. Mike DeWine has held a steady stance that the state is more or less hamstrung unless the legislature makes a law to specifically allow the state to use its reserves.
“The sole purpose of the Budget Stabilization Fund is to support a previously enacted budget if state revenue decreases in an economic downturn. The fund may be accessed only (if) the Ohio General Assembly enacts legislation to do so,” said DeWine spokesperson Dan Tierney, in a statement.
But even if the governor’s office did have the power to commit state funds to a SNAP stopgap measure, DeWine’s administration isn’t necessarily champing at the bit to do so.
“Any state solution is a temporary bandage,” Tierney said. “The easiest way to fund SNAP is for Congress, and specifically the U.S. Senate, to act and fund SNAP in a permanent budget or continuing resolution.”
Note: This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It’s free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening.
Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
About the Author
