USDA silent on SNAP reserve funding Presented by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health

With help from Helena Bottemiller Evich and Sabrina Rodriguez

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— As the government shutdown stretches into Week 3, the Agriculture Department has been mum about how long SNAP benefits will keep flowing to recipients if Congress doesn’t approve new funding soon. The Trump administration might have some flexibility to use reserve funds to keep the program running.

— The FDA is also feeling the shutdown crunch, and agency leaders are getting creative to try to help inspectors who are working without pay. That includes expanding use of government credit cards for certain travel expenses, so workers aren’t forced to rack up charges on their personal cards, per a new document obtained by POLITICO.

— Trade negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials are underway in Beijing, the first face-to-face talks since the temporary truce reached at the beginning of December. With less than two months to go before the ceasefire ends and President Donald Trump hikes tariffs on Chinese goods, the pressure is on officials to build momentum toward a broader deal.

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USDA SILENT ON SNAP RESERVE FUNDING: The Agriculture Department is remaining silent about how long it can keep Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits flowing as usual if the shutdown continues for weeks or months.

Senior administration officials said last week they think the program has enough money for January, but not enough to cover all benefits in February, a scenario that could lead to a major cutback in benefits for millions, The Washington Post reported on Friday. But the Trump administration may have some leeway for keeping the program afloat.

SNAP is an unusual budgetary creature: It’s a mandatory entitlement program that continues on autopilot, but the funds are actually appropriated by Congress. In the past, this has largely been viewed as a technicality. The money needed to keep SNAP running is usually waived through without fanfare.

Historical context: Congress has never let funding run out to the point of defaulting on SNAP benefits. In 2015, the program came close to not having enough money to cover benefits, but Congress came through with the funds at the eleventh hour.

Looking at the books: During the Obama administration, Congress gave USDA a $3 billion reserve fund each year for SNAP, in part to help with shutdown situations, with an expiration at the end of each calendar year.

In the omnibus spending package passed early last year, Congress gave USDA $3 billion for the reserve fund that extends until the end of 2019, “for use only in such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out program operations.”

Does that mean USDA has $6 billion in reserve? They won’t say. We also don’t know if USDA has any carryover funds on hand (SNAP participation has been dropping).

The monthly price tag: Per the latest figures we have on this, it probably costs about $4.7 billion to cover SNAP benefits for a month.

The word from the department: USDA has refused to answer questions about its reserves. “We are currently looking at options for SNAP,” said Tim Murtaugh, a department spokesman. “The best course of action would be for Congress to send a legitimate appropriations bill to the president to end the lapse in funding.”

POLITICO’s Marianne LeVine and Quint Forgey have the latest on how Trump is threatening to declare a national emergency to force construction of his proposed border wall. Pro Budget’s Jennifer Scholtes outlines why congressional Democrats immediately scoffed at the formal request.

TRADE TALKS UNDERWAY IN BEIJING: This week’s negotiations between U.S. and Chinese trade officials could serve as a litmus test for whether tensions are heading higher or lower with two months left until Trump has promised to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Progress this week could yield a higher-level meeting in Washington next week between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. This stage of the talks could determine whether Trump’s big gamble of 2018 — that the U.S. economy could withstand a trade war with China — will pay off, Pro Trade’s Doug Palmer writes.

What will forward momentum look like? U.S. officials largely view this week’s meetings as a chance to feel out how far China is willing to go to address U.S. concerns on issues like forced technology transfers and cyberattacks. They’re also listening closely to whether Beijing is following through on promises it made in late 2018 to address its government subsidies, market-access barriers and intellectual property theft.

The U.S. delegation, led by deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeff Gerrish, also includes USDA Undersecretary Ted McKinney and USTR’s Chief Agricultural Negotiator Gregg Doud.

Gary Horlick, a Washington-based lawyer who has served as international trade counsel to the Senate Finance Committee, told the South China Morning Post that the current stage of negotiations does not require the Trump administration’s most senior members.

“This is the right level for this stage of the negotiation,” Horlick said. “You want people with this level of expertise. Gregg Doud is the chief U.S. agricultural negotiator and he’s very well qualified. Agriculture is a key piece of this, so he’s the right way to go.”

Meanwhile in Washington: EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström visits D.C. Tuesday through Thursday for trade meetings, including one with Lighthizer and Japanese counterparts on Wednesday that will consider how to tackle China’s trade practices and advance WTO reforms.

FDA TRIES TO BLUNT SHUTDOWN IMPACT ON INSPECTORS: The top brass at FDA, where some 40 percent of employees have been furloughed, are trying to find ways to lessen the burden on inspectors who are on the job but not getting paid, Helena reports this morning.

The agency on Friday changed its internal policy so inspectors working through the shutdown (think: high risk food facility inspection in China), can charge more travel expenses onto a central agency card to avoid running up balances on their personal cards that could threaten their credit score, according to an agency memo obtained by POLITICO.

“[T]here are many inspections that cannot wait without potentially putting public health at risk,” reads the memo. “In these circumstances, it is our duty to continue to conduct inspections whether on U.S. soil or abroad.”

A little break: The memo details that unpaid employees who are exempted from the shutdown can use a central Office of Regulatory Affairs credit card for airfare and train costs, as well as hotel and lodging expenses, if needed.

— Government credit cards allow individuals to carry an unpaid balance for 120 days before it affects the individual’s credit score, according to the memo.

— Racking up significant balances on a personal credit card without knowing how long the shutdown could last could have been a point of anxiety for inspectors, especially as they face rent, mortgage and other expenses.

— Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts won’t seek reelection in 2020. Roberts, 82, has served four terms in the Senate on top of 16 years in the House, Campaign Pro’s James Arkin reports.

— Roberts has worked on eight farm bills, and he’s the only lawmaker to chair both the House and Senate Ag Committees. In a speech on Friday in Manhattan, Kan., announcing his retirement, he said his remaining to-do list as Ag chairman includes oversight of farm bill implementation and trade policy.

— House Democrats released four individual appropriations bills they plan to take up this week, including one that would fund the Agriculture Department and FDA through September, Pro Budget’s Caitlin Emma reports.

— New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney wants a $12.50 minimum wage for farmworkers included in legislation that would gradually raise the state’s minimum wage for most other workers to $15 per hour, sources told our Pro New Jersey colleagues.

— The California Department of Pesticide Regulation found chlorpyrifos or other pesticide residue in 4 percent of fruits and vegetables it tested, including strawberries, kale, beets, snow peas, cilantro and limes sold in 2017. The Salinas Californian has more.

— A surge of nearly 100,000 applications for H-2B temporary worker visas caused the Labor Department’s online portal to crash on New Year’s Day. (It’s set to relaunch today at 2 p.m.) A tight labor market has driven seasonal businesses to rely increasingly on temporary foreign workers, Pro Employment & Immigration’s Ted Hesson reports.

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