{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/santa-fe-new-mexican-new-mexico-congressional-delegates-push-for-federal-refund-of-30m-in-state-food-aid", "Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico congressional delegates push for federal refund of $30M in state food aid", "2025-12-02", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "NM", "Martin Heinrich", "H001046", "www.heinrich.senate.gov", "heinrich", "https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "New Mexico\u2019s members of Congress on Tuesday sent a letter to federal officials urging them to reimburse the state for $30 million in food aid the state provided during federal disruptions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.\n\nThe Trump administration, meanwhile, threatened to pull future funding for the program from New Mexico and other states.\n\nThe U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday said it would stop directing federal funds to states that have refused to turn over sensitive personal data from SNAP recipients, including Social Security numbers, The New York Times reported.\n\nThe federal shutdown, which lasted from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, delayed the disbursal of food aid under SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. After the federal government refused to tap emergency funds to issue November benefits, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered $30 million in emergency state funds to be distributed to New Mexicans enrolled in the program, covering around 30% of their monthly benefits.\n\n\u201cNew Mexico\u2019s governor did what the administration would not: she kept children, seniors, and people with disabilities fed,\u201d wrote New Mexico\u2019s Democratic U.S. Reps. Gabe Vasquez, Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez and Melanie Stansbury, and U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n.\n\n\u201cNo state should have to raid their own budgets to fix a problem the administration created,\u201d the delegation added in the letter.\n\nThat $30 million in state-funded benefits went out Nov. 1.\n\nAfter a federal court ruling in November required the Trump administration to pay SNAP benefits, New Mexico administered the full federal benefits around one week later. The state did not require SNAP recipients to pay back the extra 30% in state-funded benefits they had received earlier in the month.\n\nThe congressional delegates have said they\u2019re hopeful New Mexico will ultimately be reimbursed, although the Department of Agriculture\u2019s Food and Nutrition Services has said states that provided benefits won\u2019t be reimbursed. The agency didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.\n\n\u201cFunding SNAP is a federal responsibility, and New Mexican taxpayers should not be penalized for your failure to fulfill your duty,\u201d the state\u2019s congressional delegates wrote.\n\nAnother threat to the state\u2019s SNAP funds emerged Tuesday.\n\nNew Mexico was one of over 20 states, all led by Democratic governors, that refused the federal government\u2019s request earlier this year to hand over recipients\u2019 personal data. Instead, the states filed a lawsuit in California District Court in July.\n\nThe states argued the data could be used for immigration enforcement and other activities unrelated to administering food aid, The New York Times reported, adding, \u201cThe Trump administration contends that the information will be used to root out waste, fraud and abuse.\u201d\n\nA judge in October issued a preliminary injunction to prohibit the federal government from cutting off SNAP funding due to states\u2019 refusal to share personal information.\n\nBut Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday the funds will be halted, according to the Times.\n\n\u201cAs of next week, we have begun and will begin to stop moving federal funds into those states until they comply and they tell us and allow us to partner with them to root out this fraud and to protect the American taxpayer,\u201d Rollins said.\n\nThe Department of Agriculture asked New Mexico on Nov. 24 to hand over five years of \u201cdetailed data about all SNAP recipients in the state\u201d within seven days, said Michael Coleman, a spokesperson for the governor.\n\n\u201cDespite that clear directive from the court,\u201d Coleman said, \u201cthe USDA nevertheless demanded New Mexico produce the data under threat of cutting off benefits.\u201d\n\nHe added, \u201cWe expect imminent legal action will be taken stop the Trump administration once again from unlawfully cutting off vital benefits to the people that need them the most.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/santa-fe-new-mexican-new-mexico-congressional-delegates-push-for-federal-refund-of-30m-in-state-food-aid"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.523889135569334, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}