If the federal government shutdown continues until November, families depending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will not receive their benefits.
Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is again calling on the feds to release the funds, saying instead of working with Democrats, the Trump administration is preparing to hold SNAP benefits hostage to inflict further pain on American families during the shutdown.
Republicans say it is the Democrats that are standing in the way of progress, since sixty votes are needed and the Senate is split 50- 50 between Republicans and Democrats.
Whitehouse says on Facebook, that it's needless and cruel. About 140-thousand Rhode Islanders receive SNAP benefits.
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