Food Stamp Fight: Who Gets to Decide?

A big fight is happening over food stamps. The government wants to pay less, but a judge says no. Here's what's going on. The government stopped paying full food stamps this month. They said they didn't have enough money. But a judge said they could use other funds to pay people fully. The government didn't like that. So, they asked a higher court to step in and block the judge's order. This all started because the government shut down. Congress couldn't agree on a budget. Other times when this happened, food stamps kept coming. But not this time. Groups like cities, charities, and businesses sued. They wanted the government to pay full food stamps. The judge agreed. He said people were going hungry. Food banks were struggling. He told the government to use all the money they could find to pay people.The government said they could only pay part of the money. They wanted to use a special fund for emergencies. But the judge said no. He said they could use other money too. The government didn't like that. So, they asked a higher court to stop the judge's order. The higher court told the groups suing to respond quickly. They had until noon to say why the government shouldn't get to pay less. This is a big deal. People need food stamps to eat. If the government pays less, people go hungry. That's why the judge said no. He said the government's actions didn't match their words.