The 36th Legislature has approved Bill 36-0202, an act appropriating $2.77 million from the Budget Budget Stabilization Fund to the Department of Human Services to cover the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) deficit resulting from the Federal Government Shutdown of 2025.
The move offers a “temporary lifeline for the most vulnerable members of the Virgin Islands community,” Senate President Milton Potter said at the start of Thursday’s legislative session. This decisive action, he stated, is intended to “stave off food insecurity as a result of the protracted federal government shutdown.” DHS will mail paper checks worth half of the usual value to SNAP recipients in the coming days.
The Department of Human Services was instructed to hold off on the first November SNAP payment, placing over 10,000 households across the territory at risk of going without nutritious meals. Sen. Potter says the swift action to appropriate rainy day funds to bridge the gap is a “clear demonstration of the Legislative and Executive branches of government recognizing a critical problem, mobilizing forces, listening and collaborating to solve this problem.”
He thanked the governor’s financial team, including Finance Commissioner Kevin McCurdy and OMB Director Julio Rhymer, for “demonstrating responsive, responsible leadership at a critical time.”
On Wednesday, Finance Commissioner McCurdy assured lawmakers that “once this body approves the movement of the money, Finance is ready to have those checks printed almost immediately.”
Federal SNAP funding expected on November 1 will not materialize, leaving Governor Albert Bryan Jr with one day to sign Bill 36-0202, thus triggering the steps needed to ensure SNAP recipients, including seniors and children, can eat.
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