The Trump Administration notified the Supreme Court Thursday morning that the federal government’s food stamp program for needy families is now back in operation, with funds available to finance it for about the next ten months.
In a one-page letter to the Court, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauder said that the new legislation signed by President Trump Wednesday to end the 43-day government shutdown “fully funds SNAP through the end of the fiscal year” — that is, through next September 30. (SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides access to food supplies for 42 million Americans each month,)
The Administration had temporarily cut off most of the financing when prior-year funds ran out at the end of October due to the government shutdown.
After lower federal courts had ordered the Administration to provide full funding through November, the Supreme Court had temporarily blocked those orders while it considered what to do next with the underlying issue of the government’s duty to keep the program going.
The Thursday notice to the Court led the government to withdraw its plea to the Court to continue to postpone the lower court orders. That will now happen automatically. If the side in a Court case that pursued it withdraws, there is nothing for the Court to decide.
Although the dispute could arise again, when the end of the current fiscal year approaches, the Court simply has no power to decide a future controversy that, in fact, may never occur. Under the Constitution, the Court can only decide genuine, live legal disputes..
