Uncertainty looms in Bay Area amid possible end to government shutdown

Oliver Alcazar, an unemployed construction worker who’s training for a desk job after injuring his foot, was relieved to see his federal SNAP food benefit restored Sunday with $258 for his family of three for November.

Even so, on Monday, he joined hundreds who lined up at the San Jose Flea Market — where the nonprofit Hunger at Home was providing families packages of apples, pears, zucchini, bread and chicken — fearing the federal aid program remains in jeopardy amid the ongoing congressional funding stalemate that has spawned the country’s longest government shutdown.

“It’s a little bit scary to the family, because we don’t know whether everyone’s dietary needs are going to be met,” Alcazar said.

Despite movement on a possible deal to break the congressional impasse, full restoration of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other federal operations affected by the funding lapse remained unclear — an unsettling situation for those who depend on them. SNAP funding restoration came on Friday amid a whirlwind of court rulings and federal and state actions.

“We anticipated having less people due to the fact that the SNAP program was reloaded,” said Ewell Sterner, Hunger at Home’s CEO. “However, we’re seeing a larger line than we had last week. I think it’s the anxiety, the unknown, being weeks without the benefits, so getting caught up.”

Last week saw a rapid-fire sequence of events over SNAP, called CalFresh in California and known informally as food stamps. After the shutdown began Oct. 1, the Republican administration of President Donald Trump warned SNAP benefits for November would not be paid unless Democrats agree to continue government funding and end the partial shutdown.

On Thursday, a district judge in Rhode Island ordered the administration to fully fund SNAP during the government shutdown. Shortly after, California officials released food assistance to the 5.5 million residents who rely upon it. Then federal officials ordered states to “undo” the welfare spending, saying it was “unauthorized” after yet another court decision.

It was hardly the only federal program affected by the funding lapse. Airports across the country including in the Bay Area were seeing increasing disruption of their flights as the Federal Aviation Administration grappled with more staffing shortages among air traffic controllers, who have been asked to work without pay.

A potential end to the 40-day government shutdown was in sight. A small group of moderate Democrats moved last weekend to break from party leadership and support plans to fund the government that would not promise extended health care subsidies — the reason why Democrats said they’ve withheld their votes all along.

If and when the shutdown ends, CalFresh benefits would start reliably flowing again. That possibility was cold comfort in the Bay Area on Monday. Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, filed a legal challenge against the Trump administration’s attempt to “claw back” the food assistance spending, in his words. Officials in Contra Costa County paused their plans to send out $21 million on debit cards to CalFresh recipients who’d been stiffed this month.

Contra Costa County Supervisor Candace Andersen told this news organization Monday that CalFresh recipients in the county had received their benefits for the month of November. The $21 million will remain slotted for food assistance should the need arise, Andersen said. She noted that the shutdown could drag into December, or the assistance could vanish from residents’ EBT cards as the Trump administration seeks to reclaim it.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” Andersen said. “There is a lot of unknown.”

California’s Democratic members in Congress have slammed the Trump administration for refusing to fund SNAP during the government shutdown. But many were furious over the weekend with the news that the group of moderate Democrats in the Senate planned to buck the party with a funding plan that includes food assistance.

That’s because the nascent agreement between the Democratic senators and Republican leadership does not currently include any guarantee to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that are at the heart of the shutdown.

California senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla ripped into the government funding proposal on social media and said they’d be opposing it. So did Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Even so, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of Silicon Valley called for Schumer’s ouster on X. Khanna is an ambitious lawmaker aligned with the progressive wing of the party who has called for a “new generation of leadership” within the political party.

“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,” he said on the social media site. “If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?”

Democratic Rep. Sam Liccardo, who represents Silicon Valley and the Peninsula, co-introduced a bill last week to extend the health subsidies in a pared back form. He’s teamed up with Rep. Kevin Kiley, an Eastern California Republican. It’s unclear if their plan would gain much traction in the House; on Monday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he wouldn’t promise to hold a vote on the subsidies as part of a deal to reopen the government, ABC reported.

At the San Jose Flea Market, Hunger at Home served about 300 families by Monday morning, double the normal amount. By 10 a.m., when the line would normally end, 120 cars had yet to go through.

In the parking lot, Alexandrea Musquiz said she received her $87 CalFresh payment on Friday, an amount that doesn’t go far. As she, too, waited in line at the food bank, she also worried Congress might not fully restore benefits.

“I’m hoping, I’m praying, that they do,” Musquiz, 37, said. “But, I mean, I don’t know. We don’t know anything that’s going to happen in the near future, so all we can do is just cross our fingers and just hope.”