Who got paid in the shutdown — and who didn’t? Plus, SNAP rules tighten - video Dailymotion

Watch Who got paid in the shutdown — and who didn’t? Plus, SNAP rules tighten - Straight Arrow News on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00We're turning the tables. You had questions on some of our YouTube videos, and we're putting

00:09them to the test. This is Straight From You, where we fact-check claims and add context where

00:15things get a bit murky. Starting with the story in the news pretty often over the past few weeks,

00:20SNAP benefits. This viewer commented, just shy of 60 percent of SNAP beneficiaries are not even

00:26Americans. That number is making the rounds, but it's not true. By law, SNAP benefits go to American

00:33citizens, and specific lawfully present non-citizens, most of whom have to wait five years before

00:40qualifying. And a new USDA memo just made those rules even tighter. Under the guidance that took

00:46effect October 31st, states can issue food aid only to citizens, nationals, lawful permanent residents,

00:54Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens whose countries have a pact with the U.S. government,

01:00not broad humanitarian programs. States have to verify that through a DHS database, known as SAVE,

01:07and apply it for new applicants right away. There's a bigger debate behind all of this,

01:13how much public assistance immigrants actually use. Some studies focus on households with young

01:19children getting WIC or SNAP. Others, looking person-to-person nationwide, show immigrants

01:25receive less in total welfare and in title benefits than U.S.-born residents. Different lenses,

01:32different headlines. Bottom line, eligibility is tightening, and the 60 percent claim doesn't

01:37match the data. We'll keep tracking how the rule change plays out and what it means for families,

01:42grocers, and state budgets. All right, here's another viewer question. Why do 70,000 ICE slash

01:49DHS get paid during a shutdown but air traffic controllers and our military do not? Very good

01:55question, right? All right, here's the short version why. DHS had flexible funding that Congress gave it

02:02over the summer. That allowed about 70,000 officers, including ICE, CBP, the Secret Service,

02:08and federal air marshals to keep getting paid, including a lump super check on October 22nd.

02:15TSA screeners at airports were not included. They had to wait. The Pentagon managed one paycheck by

02:22moving $6.6 billion in unused research money. But lawmakers warned it couldn't do that again if

02:28the shutdown dragged on. Everyone else, thousands of federal employees, worked without pay until Congress

02:35struck a deal to reopen the government on November 12th. That plan fully funds some departments,

02:41keeps others going through January 30th, and guarantees back pay once agencies verify hours worked.

02:48Different agencies, different pots of money. And that's why some checks kept coming while others

02:53did not. Hey, keep those questions coming on our Straight Arrow News YouTube page. We love seeing your

02:58comments. And next week, we'll tackle a few more of the biggest ones.