Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel last Thursday joined a group of 13 attorneys general and New York City in a lawsuit to stop the federal government from eliminating food assistance for nearly 700,000 Americans. The lawsuit challenges a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule that would limit states' ability to extend benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, beyond a three-month period for certain adults.
Nessel and her colleagues assert that the rule directly undermines Congress' intent for the food-stamp program, and that the USDA violated the federal rulemaking process. Furthermore, they argue that the rule would impose significant regulatory burdens on the states and harm states' residents and economies. The coalition is urging the court to declare the rule unlawful and issue an injunction to prevent it from taking effect.
"This proposed rule is entirely unacceptable and exhibits a blatant disregard for more than 10 percent of SNAP recipients in Michigan," said Nessel. "I am horrified that the federal government feels comfortable not only in depriving adults of the essential assistance needed to put food on their tables, but also denying 58,743 Michigan children from eating lunch at school and consequently impacting their ability to learn."
Nessel joins the attorneys general from California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia along with New York City in filing this lawsuit.
Published: Mon, Jan 20, 2020
