Tennessee Governor Bill Lee issued a statement criticizing congressional Democrats for “holding federal dollars hostage,” as a lapse in appropriations due to the ongoing government shutdown threatens to suspend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for more than 690,000 Tennesseans in November.
In a letter dated October 10, Ronald Ward, the acting associate administrator for SNAP at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, announced that 42 million people across the nation could lose access to SNAP benefits beginning November 1 if the current lapse in appropriations continues and a backup plan is not implemented.
