D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s administration said late Wednesday that it will use excess city revenue to temporarily increase food assistance benefits for residents in need, reversing course amid pressure from city lawmakers and an imminent threat of a lawsuit.
Legal Aid DC, which provides pro bono legal services and assistance to low-income residents, was planning to sue Bowser’s administration Thursday morning over its reluctance to administer a 10 percent boost to D.C.’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from this month to September. The increase stems from a D.C. Council budget provision that Bowser (D) signed into law last year.
But even after the city’s chief financial officer confirmed that the $40 million in excess revenue was available, Bowser’s administration said as recently as Tuesday night that the SNAP increase was not feasible. The administration argued that the city’s Department of Human Services (DHS), which handles SNAP, has already been stretched thin handling other social services programs that are over budget because of heightened demand. At a news conference Thursday, Bowser reiterated that she still felt the policy was a “bad idea” that would hamper DHS but indicated her hands were tied with the threat of legal action from the council, which publicly contended that Bowser’s administration was breaking the law by disregarding the legislative mandate.
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While some lawmakers and Bowser were expected to meet next week to discuss a path forward, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) on Tuesday introduced a resolution authorizing the council to take the rare step of either suing Bowser’s administration over its refusal to implement the increase or supporting another lawsuit related to SNAP.
“The council has indicated, by saying they would sue us, that they’re not interested in talking about alternatives,” Bowser said. “So if they’re not interested in talking about alternatives, we have to move forward with that bad idea.”
But a more immediate legal threat was on the horizon.
The nonprofit Legal Aid DC and the law firm Zuckerman Spaeder had been preparing to file a lawsuit on behalf of two SNAP recipients Thursday morning in D.C. Superior Court hoping a judge would compel DHS to follow the council’s mandate. But late Wednesday evening, Legal Aid DC Executive Director Vikram Swaruup said in an interview, Bowser’s legal team changed course and said it would implement the food assistance enhancement after all.
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“In response to Legal Aid’s communications about the impending legal action, the Mayor’s Office ultimately committed to Legal Aid that it would implement the SNAP funds as directed by the Council’s law,” the nonprofit wrote in a statement Wednesday night.
Details remain to be worked out, Swaruup said. Although Legal Aid will hold off on filing the lawsuit, it is still determining “exactly how and when” DHS will pay out the enhanced benefits retroactive to Monday while confirming the 10 percent SNAP boost will be available next month to the 140,000 or so city residents who receive food assistance, he said.
DHS Director Laura Zeilinger confirmed in a statement late Wednesday that the agency would implement the SNAP increase despite budgetary and staffing concerns raised in recent weeks by Bowser administration officials, including administrative challenges and customer service involved in rolling out the increased benefits, then sunsetting them once they expire in September.
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“Due to major budget shortfalls and workload pressures, in November I advised the Mayor that it is in the best interest of residents to prioritize sustaining vital human services programs, over administering a new temporary local SNAP supplement,” Zeilinger wrote. “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.”
Pressed on her administration’s stance Thursday, Bowser reiterated that DHS is facing “a lot of pressures” and questioned whether a short-term SNAP boost would be more impactful than using the money to fortify another program.
“So the rationale was: Could we have a bigger bang for that money in another program that helps people?” Bowser said, adding that she probably would have sent a reprogramming request to the council to spend the money differently had it not been for the legal threat.
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Asked why she signed the SNAP increase into law in the first place, Bowser said bluntly, “I shouldn’t have,” suggesting that she probably would not support council proposals that involve paying for policies using excess or anticipated revenue. She declined to speculate exactly when the extra SNAP benefit would reach recipients, adding that DHS will now need to recalibrate while continuing to handle existing benefit programs.
“There are administrative things that have to be done, work that the same workers are doing that they have to stop to pivot to this,” Bowser said. “The workers, they are not exactly twiddling their thumbs. We want to give them the opportunity to do it in the most expeditious and efficient way that also doesn’t hurt the status-quo programs.”
Still, Legal Aid’s announcement was cause for celebration from advocates and legislators who had pushed for the temporary increased benefit, which is inspired by a separate, unfunded 2022 bill from council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large). Her bill would create a local SNAP supplement that would enhance families’ food assistance allotment.
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“This is a victory for the thousands of families, children, seniors and people with disabilities in D.C. who depend on SNAP to get by,” council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Now we need DHS to get this funding out the door as soon as possible.”
Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) offered a harsher take: “Months were wasted while the administration attempted to play chicken with the law, hoping to gaslight the city,” he wrote on X. “Now SNAP recipients have to wait for DHS to play catch-up. Unbelievable.”
Despite lingering questions about when the enhanced benefits will be administered, the latest SNAP update is welcome news for residents such as Katina Cheadle, who was set to be one of two plaintiffs named in the lawsuit. The mother of seven in Southeast Washington receives $1,405 a month in SNAP benefits, an amount she finds new ways to stretch creatively each month to feed her family.
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That often includes trips to a local food bank, asking relatives for help or dipping into another DHS benefit she receives called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), she said in an interview Wednesday. But using TANF on food means potentially coming up short on bills. And Cheadle’s power was shut off in November, requiring her to overdraw her checking account to pay for it.
When the timing and the financial math don’t add up, the family will sometimes forgo dinner altogether.
The SNAP boost, expected to be about $47 on average, according to Henderson’s office, would net Cheadle an extra $175 per month, according to a draft copy of the complaint. She says that amount could help fund a small trip to the grocery store when things are tight, providing a greater sense of security in situations when her children, ages 1 through 20, risk going to bed hungry.
“Some people absolutely need that increase, so I don’t understand why it’s being rejected or overlooked,” Cheadle said. “To be able to get more and do more grocery shopping throughout the month is what I’m looking forward to.”
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