WASHINGTON – Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – commonly known as food stamps – will lapse on Nov. 1, the first time in the program's 60-year history as the consequences of the government shutdown spread across the country.

That's why lawmakers have started proposing more standalone bills that, while not capable of fully reopening the government, would address the crisis' biggest pain points, from the SNAP impasse to widespread concern over military pay .

Rank-and-file lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, seem to increasingly acknowledge that at some point soon, something's got to give. And by Wednesday afternoon, more bipartisan talks seemed to be happening, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

Still, lawmakers haven't managed to pass anything to ease

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