Latest news on what’s going on with federal funding

Updated 4:33 pm, Nov. 7, 2025

Partial food assistance payments are on the way for NC families and full benefits could arrive soon as federal courts ruled yesterday that the Trump administration must pay the full amount in November and can do so by both utilizing Contingency Funds created for that purpose and its existing legal authority to transfer funds.

The Center on Budget & Policy Priorities noted that the Trump administration’s initial agreement to make only partial payments created deep cuts to food assistance for some families, causing technological challenges and unnecessary delays.

The uncertainty and disruption caused by the delays of a month’s delivery of benefits is a cautionary tale as the implementation of changes to SNAP under the harmful megabill begin in NC.

Food banks scrambled to meet the need, states stepped in to provide resources, and agencies reached out to 1.4 million North Carolinians with information about what was happening.

This month the federal government has instructed states to begin implementing work-reporting requirements for the new populations now required to report on their hours worked in order to receive food assistance under HR1, or what is often called the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”  While these work-reporting requirements may not impact food assistance right away, estimates are that 143,000 North Carolinians will lose access to some support to pay for groceries because their work doesn’t provide the number of hours or consistent schedule required by the requirement, their caregiving responsibilities keep them from working, or they can’t find work.   Work-reporting requirements have proven to be bad at improving employment outcomes and very good at taking away food and health care from people.

In the meantime, any end to the federal shutdown will need to address rising health care costs and make sure that federal funds reach communities as intended.

With open enrollment in the health care marketplace having begun Nov. 1, the nearly 1 million North Carolinians who purchase health care through the exchange and utilize premium health care tax credits to afford coverage are seeing the increased premiums that result from the expiration of the tax credits, among other changes to health care.

The critical role that federal funding plays in keeping costs affordable and communities moving forward isn’t just limited to health care. Ensuring that any federal funding plan agreed to by Congress also reaches communities without intervention from the administration is also critical. This week, several rural Head Start programs had to close their doors because of the shutdown, leaving families without access to care. And as the weather turns cooler,  NC won’t be able to accept new applications for home energy assistance unless federal funding resumes.

As we continued to monitor the uncertainty and unnecessary harm of federal funding cuts and chaos, we will be sure to update you on how we can all come together to make sure our delegation to Congress and the public understands the impacts of federal policy choices in NC communities.