Maryland Governor Declares Emergency, Allocates $10 Million to Food Banks Amid Federal Shutdown
Governor Wes Moore has declared a state of emergency and allocated $10 million to food banks as federal SNAP benefits expire during the government shutdown, while a state senator faces federal extortion charges.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore has declared a state of emergency and announced $10 million in assistance to food banks and partners statewide as federal SNAP food stamp benefits are set to expire at the end of October. This emergency declaration comes in response to the ongoing federal government shutdown, now the second longest in U.S. history, which has left thousands of Maryland's federal workers and contractors facing financial uncertainty.
The funding announcement follows calls from State Comptroller Brooke Lierman and state lawmakers for immediate state action to compensate for the potential loss of federal food assistance that may run dry beginning this weekend. The emergency measures aim to provide critical support to vulnerable residents who rely on food assistance programs during the government impasse.
Meanwhile, a separate political scandal has emerged as State Senator Attar, her brother, and a Baltimore City Police officer face federal charges in an alleged blackmail scheme. According to a recently unsealed federal indictment, the three are charged with an alleged effort to blackmail a political consultant from speaking out against Attar in the run-up to the 2022 election. All three defendants are currently in federal custody facing federal charges.
The dual crises highlight the intersecting challenges facing Maryland residents and government institutions. The food assistance emergency comes as thousands of federal workers seek financial assistance through programs detailed at https://www.baltimoresun.com, while the political corruption charges add to what observers note is Maryland's long and storied history of political scandal.
Other state developments include ongoing scrutiny of Maryland's foster care system, with Republican delegates calling for Governor Moore to fire Rafael J. López, secretary of the Department of Human Services. López has repeatedly insisted to lawmakers that his agency is working to transform an agency that was the subject of a scathing audit and was responsible for the care of a teen who died while in foster care living in a Baltimore City hotel.
In education policy, families may need to wait until after the Maryland General Assembly returns to Annapolis for long-awaited help with child care costs. The state's childcare scholarship program has become a victim of its own success, with enrollment growing from 12,000 children when it began in 2018 to 46,295 in the last fiscal year, more than the state could afford, according to data available at https://www.marylandmatters.org.