NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — While Tennessee's governor's office claimed technical limitations prevented the state from using state funding to pay SNAP food benefits during the federal government shutdown, another state that appeared to use the same vendor to distribute benefits said it would spend state money to continue payments.

About 690,000 Tennesseans rely on SNAP food benefits at a cost of $145 million per month, according to Tennessee Department of Human Services Commissioner Clarence Carter.

The Trump administration said it would not pay benefits on Nov. 1, the first missed payment due to the federal government shutdown. Two judges on Friday afternoon ordered the federal government to pay benefits using contingency funds. It was not immediately clear when the payments would be made or how much would be paid.

Tennessee has more than $2 billion in its rainy day fund. However, in a press release posted on Oct. 24, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's office said, "Tennessee is unable to utilize state dollars to provide the benefit, as states do not have a mechanism to load benefits onto customer cards."

Lee also warned on Thursday that "temporary fixes" would "only drain state resources and prolong the misery of this shutdown." Instead, he directed Tennesseans to FeedTn.org, which is supposed to connect "people in every county to trusted, local food relief efforts."

Carter, whose agency oversees Tennessee's SNAP program, told lawmakers on Thursday, "Even if the legislature were to make state funds available, it's not possible to use the existing delivery mechanism because the card mechanism is tied to lines of credit from the federal government."

His next comment suggested it was possible to send money to people using SNAP, but it wouldn't be quick: "So you would have to create an entirely different distribution mechanism, which would be extremely complex." Asked about a timeline to do so, Carter said, "It would take a ton more time than the next two days."

New Mexico's governor, a Democrat, announced on Wednesday $30 million in state funding would be used to replace SNAP benefits.

"New Mexicans enrolled in SNAP should expect the state funds announced by the governor by Saturday to equal roughly 30% of their benefit for November; with elderly and disabled recipients receiving at least $100," the governor's office said in a press release.

New Mexico appears to contract with Fidelity Information Services to distribute SNAP benefits. That's based on a 2023 USDA report, multiple mentions of Fidelity on the New Mexico Health Care Authority website, and recent New Mexico news coverage of the state's SNAP program.

Tennessee began a contract with Fidelity National Information Services for "electronic benefits transfer services" in 2024. It's scheduled to end in 2029. Tennessee's SNAP website links to a Fidelity Information Services app to allow recipients to manage their EBT benefits.

News 2 emailed the spokesperson for Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and representatives for Tennessee's Department of Human Services to ask whether there was a "difference between Tennessee and New Mexico that would prevent Tennessee from using state funds for benefits." The governor's office did not respond.

A representative for the Tennessee Department of Human Services did not directly answer the question in a statement but maintained, "Tennessee does not have a mechanism to load federally funded SNAP benefits onto customer cards."

Here's the full statement:

EBT card systems vary from state to state and Tennessee does not have a mechanism to load federally funded SNAP benefits onto customer cards. Additionally, as TDHS Commissioner Carter stated yesterday, standing up a separate government program will not result in immediate distribution of benefits, and the federal government’s failure to fund federal nutrition programs cannot be fixed by states. As Commissioner Carter said yesterday, the quickest way to help hardworking Tennesseans receive the resources they need is to reopen the federal government now.

Carter celebrated the "volunteer nature" of Tennessee at a Thursday hearing.

"Organizations of faith and other community folks have come together to make these feeding opportunities available in the near-term, but there isn't anything we can do to replace that $145 million federal mechanism," he said.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/new-questions-about-tennessees-mechanism-defense-for-not-funding-snap/