The Council of D.C. was in the process of filing a potential lawsuit against D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser after it was discovered her administration failed to implement a $40 million budget to fuel food assistance to thousands of residents in the nation’s capital. Since then, she has announced she would provide the funding as needed.
The move comes after a clash between Bowser and the Council over how to enhance the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a government assistance program that offers nutritional support to low-income families by providing food benefits, supplementing their grocery budgets, and allowing beneficiaries to afford food to maintain health and well-being.
Part of the feud stemmed from whether the city should increase the assistance program by 10 percent from January to September, contingent upon the city having the revenue to support the measure.
Since news broke of the potential lawsuit, Bowser has since announced she would give SNAP benefits additional funding, avoiding a showdown with the D.C. Council.
Reports show approximately 140,000 in Washington, D.C. receive SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps.
In March 2023, families experienced a reduction in their benefits as the federal pandemic relief funding ended. Since then, the D.C. Council enacted legislation mandating the allocation of approximately $38 million to augment those benefits for a duration of nine months, pending the District achieved a budget surplus. Although the District did conclude the previous fiscal year with a surplus, Bowser only agreed to implement this measure on Wednesday night.
“While fiscal and administrative pressures still exist, this evening I advised the Mayor that DHS will make this program work while we attempt to solve ongoing challenges,” Director Laura Zeilinger of the D.C. Department of Human Services told NBC4 Washington.
Meanwhile, Bowser’s office released a statement shortly after announcing she would disburse the funding.
“With significant fiscal and human resources pressures in our human services cluster, it’s not prudent to increase spending on one program, especially when demand for other programs that support the same people is increasing beyond our current budget,” the statement said. “As our budgets tighten, we have a responsibility to first fund and sustain critical housing, shelter, and the cash and food assistance benefits already in place.”
