Despite surplus, Wisconsin unlikely to cover expiring food benefits costs

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Funding for food benefits is expected to expire Friday night, Oct. 31, leaving more than 40 million Americans without critical food assistance.

Many states are frantically trying to fill in the gaps the federal government shutdown has created. But in Wisconsin, it's doubtful lawmakers will use state money to fund the federal program.

Jason Stein is the president of the Wisconsin Policy Forum. He told us Thursday, Oct. 30, "We're in somewhat uncharted territory here."

Stein said, historically, there has been reluctance at the state level to fund federal programs.

Right now, Wisconsin has a surplus of $4.6 billion. There is also $1.9 billion in a contingency fund, what is often called the rainy-day fund.

In Wisconsin, it costs $114 million per month to fund the program, according to the Department of Health Services.

At an event Thursday, Democratic State Senator Chris Larson said, "If it comes to it, and Republicans at the state come to their senses before their federal partners do, yes, we should move forward to try and fund it from the state."

State legislatures in Connecticut, Louisiana, and Vermont voted to temporarily fund food benefits with surplus money. And Stein says it's likely states would be reimbursed whenever the shutdown ends.

But, so far, Wisconsin Republicans have signaled an unwillingness to spend state money on a federal program.

And without legislation, there's really no other option.

This week, the governors of Minnesota, New York, and Virginia redirected emergency funds to food assistance programs in their states.

But that's not possible in Wisconsin, which the Governor has acknowledged.

Stein said, "To spend state tax dollars, you have the legislature appropriate funds in a budget bill and the Governor signs it."

There were some calls Thursday for the state to use remaining COVID money to fund FoodShare.

Around $373 million remains unspent, but not for long. The state's Legislative Fiscal Bureau told us that money is obligated, which "could include funding for activities that have been completed and are just waiting for reimbursement".

So even though Wisconsin has a sizeable surplus, and even if a reimbursement from the federal government is likely whenever the shutdown ends, it is unlikely the state will fund the FoodShare program.

Stein said, "I'm not aware of any legal impediment to them doing that. It would be just simply a question of whether they believed it would be the right thing to do."

We reached out to several state Republican leaders for comment on using state funds for the FoodShare program but did not hear back.

If you are experiencing food insecurity, you can find a resource page here.