,,iii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #dha  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november 
#c1 #bjbe ,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself1   
,mr4 ,schumer1 ,ms4 ,alsobrooks1 ,ms4   
,baldwin1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,mr4            
,blumenthal1 ,ms4 ,blunt ,rochester1    
,mr4 ,booker1 ,ms4 ,cantwell1 ,mr4      
,coons1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 ,ms4       
,duckworth1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,gallego1
 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,ms4 ,hassan1 ,mr4  
,heinrich1 ,mr4 ,hickenlooper1 ,ms4     
,hirono1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,kelly1 ,mr4 
,kim1 ,mr4 ,king1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 
,lujn1 ,mr4 ,markey1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,mrs4
 ,murray1 ,mr4 ,ossoff1 ,mr4 ,padilla1  
,mr4 ,peters1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,ms4 ,rosen1  
,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,schatz1 ,mr4       
,schiff1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,ms4 ,slotkin1 
,ms4 ,smith1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4    
,warner1 ,mr4 ,warnock1 ,ms4 ,warren1   
,mr4 ,welch1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 and ,mr4 
,wyden7 submitted the following         
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 

and ,forestry  ,,resolution  ,expressing
 the sense of the ,senate that the      
,united ,states ,department of          
,agriculture should use its contingency 
funds and interchange authority to      
finance the supplemental nutrition      
assistance program4  ,whereas1 in #aifd1
 ,congress authorized the supplemental  
nutrition assistance program 7referred  
to in this preamble as ,,snap7 to       
alleviate ''' hunger and malnutrition   
and ensure that families would never go 
hungry2  ,whereas approximately #a in #h
 people in the ,united ,states rely on  
,,snap1 and in #bjbd1 ,,snap helped     
approximately #db1jjj1jjj people avoid  
hunger or malnutrition1 including about 
#af1jjj1jjj children1 #h1jjj1jjj        
seniors1 #d1jjj1jjj people with         
disabilities1 and #a1bjj1jjj veterans2  
,whereas1 in the ,consolidated          
,appropriations ,act1 #bjbd1 ,congress  
appropriated #c1jjj1jjj1jjj to the      
,,snap contingency fund to remain       
available through ,september #cj1 #bjbf1

 that would be placed in reserve for use
 only in such amounts and at such times 
as may become necessary to carry out    
program operations2  ,whereas1 in the   
,full-,year ,continuing ,appropriations 
and ,extensions ,act1 #bjbe1 ,congress  
appropriated another #c1jjj1jjj1jjj to  
the ,,snap contingency fund for these   
same purposes1 to remain available      
through ,september #cj1 #bjbg2  ,whereas
 this contingency fund1 which now totals
 more than #d1ejj1jjj1jjj1 was created  
to ensure that ,,snap funding would be  
available to respond to emergencies1    
including a government shutdown1 so that
 children1 seniors1 and people of the   
,united ,states who are at risk of going
 hungry have access to food2  ,whereas  
it is highly damaging for children to go
 without food and the ability of        
children to learn in school is deeply   
damaged by persistent hunger2  ,whereas1
 during the #bjah-bjai shutdown in the  
first ,trump administration1 the ,united
 ,states ,department of ,agriculture    

7referred to in this preamble as the    
,,usda7 said in guidance released in    
,january #bjai that funding is available
 from the contingency that can be used  
to provide benefits for ,february1      
though the shutdown ended before the    
contingency funds needed to be used2    
,whereas1 on ,september #cj1 the ,,usda 
posted guidance on its website          
indicating that ,,snap has been provided
 with multi-year contingency funds that 
can be used for ,state ,administrative  
,expenses to ensure that the ,state can 
also continue operations during a       
,federal ,government shutdown and that  
these multi-year contingency funds are  
also available to fund participant      
benefits in the event that a lapse      
occurs in the middle of the fiscal year2
  ,whereas1 earlier in #bjbe1 the       
,government ,accountability ,office     
explained that ,,snap is considered an  
appropriated entitlement1 meaning that  
the government is legally required to   
make payments to those who meet the     

program requirements and ,,usda's       
liability extends to the availability of
 appropriations for these payments2     
,whereas the ,secretary of ,agriculture 
has discretion under section #gjb7;b7 of
 the ,department of ,agriculture        
,organic ,act of #aidd 7#g ,u4,s4,c4    
#bbeg7 to transfer funds within         
nutrition programs via interchange      
authority2 and  ,whereas1 in ,october   
#bjbe1 the ,trump administration used   
its interchange authority to fund the   
,special ,supplemental ,nutrition       
,program for ,women1 ,infants1 and      
,children 7,,wic73 ,now1 therefore1 be  
it  ,that it is the sense of the ,senate
 that-- 7#a7 the ,trump administration  
is legally obligated to fund the        
supplemental nutrition assistance       
program 7referred to in this resolution 
as ,,snap7 through the use of the       
contingency fund2  7#b7 the ,trump      
administration has the legal authority  
and the funds to finance ,,snap through 
the month of ,november2  7#c7 exercising

 this power is extremely important for  
the health and wellness of families     
experiencing hunger1 including about    
#af1jjj1jjj children1 #h1jjj1jjj        
seniors1 #d1jjj1jjj people with         
disabilities1 and #a1bjj1jjj veterans2  
and  7#d7 the administration should     
immediately exercise its legal authority
 to fund ,,snap in ,november #bjbe4