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California among 25 states suing Trump over halt to food aid
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California National Guard troops prepare meals for distribution at a food bank in the City of Industry. | Photo courtesy of Gov. Gavin Newsom's office
The White House referred a request for comment to the administration's Office of Management of Budget, which did not immediately respond. USDA officials blamed the shutdown on Democrats who were aware that SNAP funding was about to run out and accused the opposition of using the families who rely on food aid as political pawns. “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats," a USDA spokesperson said in an email to HeySoCal.com. "Continue to hold out for the Far-Left wing of the party or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments.” According to the lawsuit, on Sept. 30 the USDA See Food aid Page 28
LA County board approves $828M abuse claims settlement
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joet@beaconmedianews.com
what’s happening: For the first time ever, SNAP benefits will not be available to the millions of lowincome individuals who depend on them to put food on the table,” Bonta said in a statement. “November SNAP benefits can and must be provided, even with the government shutdown. USDA not only has authority to use contingency funds, it has a legal duty to spend all available dollars to fund SNAP benefits." Bonta accused the Trump administration of politicizing food assistance. "With the holidays around the corner, we are seeing costs for groceries continue to increase and food banks facing unprecedented demand," Bonta said. "We are taking a stand because families will experience hunger and malnutrition if the Trump administration gets its way.”
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By City News Service
By Joe Taglieri alifornia, 24 other states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the Trump administration's halt to food assistance during the nearly monthlong federal government shutdown. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Massachusetts alleges the administration is using the shutdown as an excuse to unlawfully withhold November funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, despite having available funds, according to court documents. The U.S. Department of Agriculture under President Donald Trump has announced November SNAP benefits will cease because of the shutdown. As a result, 5.5 million Californians including 1.9 million children will lose access to $1.1 billion in food assistance. “While Donald Trump parades around the world trying to repair the economic damage he's done with his incompetence, he's denying food to millions of Americans who will go hungry next month," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. 'It's cruel and speaks to his basic lack of humanity. He doesn't care about the people of this country, only himself." According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the USDA has available funds sufficient to cover all or a large portion of November SNAP benefits as agency sits on billions of dollars in contingency funds. “Let’s be clear about
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issued a Lapse of Funding Plan acknowledging that Congress intended for SNAP benefits to continue during a government shutdown and that the department has multiple years of contingency funds available totaling $6 billion. Nine days after the shutdown's Oct. 1 start, the USDA directed state agencies to put an indefinite hold on November benefits while it began “the process of fact finding and information gathering to be prepared in case a contingency plan must be implemented,” according to a letter the department sent to states. After no additional guidance for two weeks, a group of attorneys general requested an update on the USDA’s contingency plan, court documents show. The same day, Oct. 24, the USDA
he county Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved an $828 million settlement with 414 plaintiffs who claim they were the victims of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of county workers. The settlement is on top of an earlier $4 billion settlement reached on behalf of roughly 11,000 claimants. That settlement has already led to financial consequences for the county, including curtailments in spending and many county departments coping with 3% budget cuts during the current fiscal year. Some county services are also undergoing reductions. The various claims involved in the settlements were the result of AB 218, which temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on allegations of childhood sexual abuse. The claims included in the two settlements involve allegations dating back as far as 1959, targeting workers at the county Probation and Children and Family Services departments. County officials said that in light of recent allegations that some plaintiffs may have made fraudulent damages claims, every individual abuse claim involved in both settlements will be carefully reviewed. Every claim will be vetted, with individual plaintiffs being required to provide a "detailed, multi-page written factual summary, See Abuse claims Page 02
under penalty of perjury, of the alleged misconduct and resulting harms." "The system created by AB 218 is inherently vulnerable to fraud, but the county established fraud protections from the beginning of the settlement discussions and has now strengthened the review process to further ensure that money goes only to the true victims of abuse," Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger said in a statement. "Our settlements balance our obligation to compensate victims and treat their experiences with compassion with the need to put strong protections in place to protect taxpayers from fraud." The Board of Supervisors recently directed its attorneys to investigate allegations that some people included in the $4 billion settlement of sex abuse claims were paid to file lawsuits and become plaintiffs in the litigation. The investigation follows a Los Angeles Times report finding that some plaintiffs in the sweeping sex abuse settlement were paid by vendors to sue the county, and in at least two cases, fabricate claims so they could become plaintiffs. According to The Times, the plaintiffs in question were all represented by Downtown LA Law Group, or DTLA, which had more than 2,700 cases involved in the abuse settlement. The law firm categorically denied paying anyone