25th Council backs federal bill to guarantee SNAP benefits during shutdown

WINDOW ROCK

As the federal government shutdown stretches into its second month, Native American communities are facing a growing hunger crisis.

The Navajo Nation Council has introduced emergency legislation urging Congress to immediately restore funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, joining 25 states and the District of Columbia in warning that the suspension of food aid could devastate millions of low-income families, especially those on reservations.

The Navajo Nation’s action comes as a coalition of states filed a federal lawsuit accusing the U.S. Department of Agriculture of illegally halting November SNAP benefits despite having billions in reserve funds. Both the lawsuit and the Navajo Nation’s legislation highlight the same urgent concern: Native and rural communities will bear the brunt of Washington’s political stalemate.

Speaker Crystalyne Curley introduced Legislation No. 0248-25 before the Naabik’íyáti’ Committee to support the “Keep SNAP Funded Act of 2025,” or Senate Bill 3024, sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. The bill would guarantee continuous SNAP payments during any lapse in federal appropriations and retroactively cover missed benefits since the shutdown began Oct. 1.

Curley’s resolution authorizes President Buu Nygren, Vice President Richelle Montoya and other representatives to lobby Congress for swift passage. It also calls on the U.S. House of Representatives to reconvene and pass a companion bill before Nov. 1, when the USDA is projected to exhaust remaining SNAP funds.

“The Navajo people should not suffer hunger because of inaction in Washington,” Curley said. “This legislation is about survival for families who rely on SNAP every month.”

Federal gridlock puts tribal food aid at risk

The shutdown has strained essential programs that serve tribal citizens. Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah – which administer SNAP for Navajo residents – have warned that without congressional action, they will be unable to issue November benefits.

SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, supports roughly one-third of Navajo households. A 2021 University of Arizona study found that about 33 percent of families on the Nation depend on the program to meet basic food needs. For many rural chapters where grocery access is limited and food prices are high, even a short disruption could lead to a humanitarian crisis.

“This is not just a financial crisis, it is a humanitarian one,” said Ts’ahbiikin Chapter President Dellard Curley, who sponsored a local resolution supporting the federal bill. “As the first of the month approaches, many of our seniors will have little or no funds left for food. The shutdown has limited federal operations that normally support food distribution, leaving our people without sufficient access to essential resources.”

Curley urged the Council and the Executive Branch to declare a state of emergency for food insecurity and to appropriate tribal funds for emergency food distributions.

“Our families, our elders and our children cannot wait,” he said. “This is the moment to act for the well-being of our Diné Nation.”

Communities brace for food shortages as shutdown drags on

The multi-state lawsuit filed Oct. 28 in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts argues that USDA’s decision to halt SNAP benefits – for the first time in the program’s history – violates federal law and congressional intent. The complaint notes that the agency holds more than $6 billion in contingency reserves and another $23 billion in agricultural funds that could have been used to continue the program.

The states say the agency’s refusal to use those funds, especially while tribal communities face the highest food insecurity rates in the nation, is unlawful and unconscionable. They argue that SNAP is an “appropriated entitlement” guaranteeing benefits for all eligible households, including tribal members, regardless of political gridlock.

Public comments submitted to the Legislative Branch show widespread concern across the reservation.

“Uninterrupted nutrition assistance is fundamental to the well-being of our tribal communities,” wrote Toni Mina, a member of the Navajo Nation Veterans Advisory Council. “The threat of SNAP funding lapses becomes a direct risk to over a million American Indian and Alaska Native people. Preserving SNAP is essential to the Navajo Nation’s mission to protect and serve our people.”

Fallyn J. Begay, a veteran service officer with the Navajo Nation Veterans Administration, said many veterans and surviving spouses depend on SNAP to feed their families.

“Many are elders or single parents,” Begay wrote. “The need and demand for SNAP benefits is what our community members depend on. Our veterans, surviving spouses, and Gold Star parents support SNAP legislation.”

Chapters across the Navajo Nation are preparing for emergency food distributions. Local leaders say funds and volunteer pantries are already stretched thin. In communities such as Shiprock, Tuba City and Chinle, where grocery prices can exceed those in border towns by 30 percent or more, any delay in SNAP payments could leave thousands without food for weeks.

The lawsuit describes USDA’s suspension of benefits as “a dramatic and unjustified departure” from the agency’s historic role in feeding low-income Americans. It warns that tribal nations, which also rely on the “Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations,” will experience the most severe impacts of the shutdown.

Unified call for action

Speaker Curley’s resolution reflects the Navajo Nation’s broader call for unity between tribal and federal governments to prevent hunger and uphold trust obligations.

If Congress fails to act by Nov. 1, millions of Americans, including tens of thousands of Navajo citizens, could lose access to basic food assistance. The Naabik’íyáti’ Committee is expected to take up the resolution soon, and it has already drawn strong community support.

“This is a time that calls for unity, leadership, and compassion,” Chapter President Curley said. “We must ensure no Navajo household goes hungry.”

If adopted, the Navajo Nation Council’s resolution would direct tribal leaders to lobby Congress for immediate passage of the Keep SNAP Funded Act and its House companion, a unified effort by state governments and tribal nations to restore food aid and protect vulnerable families across Indian Country.

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