As the federal shutdown entered a fourth week, the Virgin Islands Legislature on Thursday moved quickly to prevent a deepening food crisis, approving emergency funding to continue issuing temporary SNAP relief checks to thousands of households now cut off from their monthly benefits.
By a 13–0 vote among members present, senators passed Bill No. 36-0202, authorizing $2.77 million from the Budget Stabilization Fund for the Human Services Department to bridge the gap caused by the halt in November SNAP payments. The bill was taken up first on the calendar and advanced without amendment — a sign, lawmakers suggested, of both consensus and urgency.
Importantly, the measure also formally authorizes the governor to use these funds to continue issuing relief checks for as long as federal benefits remain suspended, ensuring the administration has clear legal authority to maintain the program if the shutdown stretches into December. The authorization codifies what had begun as an executive emergency action, shifting it onto firmer legislative footing.
Senate President Milton E. Potter made that clear as he explained why the measure had been placed at the top of Thursday’s agenda. The goal, he said, was to ensure that the supplemental assistance checks reach residents “immediately,” noting that the interruption of food benefits has placed some of the territory’s most vulnerable residents — including children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities — at risk of going without meals.
The Legislature’s action formalizes and expands upon the initial relief plan announced by Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. on Oct. 21, when his administration began releasing local dollars to issue paper checks covering half of each household’s usual SNAP benefit. At the time, Bryan told the Source that the administration would draw from the Rainy Day Fund to get the first round of payments out swiftly, describing the situation as a “state of emergency” and cautioning that the territory could move to full replacement benefits if the shutdown persisted into December.
“Children are hungry, and it’s a state of emergency,” Bryan said then, adding that paper checks were the fastest way to move relief while the federal electronic benefits system remained frozen. “For our families, we will act with urgency and care. This is a bridge to keep food on the table while Congress determines how to do its job.”
The suspension of SNAP benefits affects roughly 10,600 households, representing more than 24,000 Virgin Islanders across St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. Human Services is mailing the relief checks by zip code, with a dedicated hotline and secure pickup procedures for undeliverable mail already in place.
On Thursday, senators kept the focus narrowly on execution. There was little procedural back-and-forth, no partisan division, and no amendments — only the work of moving the appropriation forward and transmitting the bill to Government House the same day. Potter thanked his colleagues for what he described as a necessary act of collective responsibility, underscoring that the Legislature’s intent is to “bridge the gap” in federal aid and “address the potential issue of food insecurity” in the territory.
While Thursday’s vote stabilizes the immediate relief effort, the broader uncertainty tied to the shutdown remains unresolved.
