Here’s why the shutdown has put food stamp benefits at risk

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WASHINGTON DC -- In an unprecedented situation, millions of Americans could lose access to a crucial food assistance program in the coming weeks amid the federal government shutdown.

The US Department of Agriculture has said it does not have the money to pay $8 billion in food stamp benefits for November amid the funding impasse on Capitol Hill that led the government to shut down on October 1. The agency argues it cannot tap into its roughly $6 billion contingency fund to cover next month’s benefits, though Democratic lawmakers and advocates claim the USDA should — or is even obligated to — use the money.

Without help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the formal name for food stamps, many recipients a