LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Manny Santamaria knows what it's like to go without.
The U.S. Army veteran who suffers from PTSD lost his job in 2019, just as he learned his wife was pregnant with their second child.
His family, however, was eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP.
"SNAP was a program that kept us safe," says Santamaria, who is now the campaigns director for the progressive group Battle Born Progress.
WATCH | Hear from Santamaria on SNAP
At a Friday morning news conference, Santamaria said people on SNAP count every dollar, watch closely what they put into their grocery cart and know how to stretch both their money and their food.
"So, there were times when I could go without because my pregnant wife and young boy needed the nutrition more than I did," he said. "You know, I hated myself. There was shame in me at the time, but there was also gratitude that without a program like SNAP supporting us in this difficult time, we would not have made it."
"And I'm just one of thousands and thousands of Nevadans who have similar stories like this right now, stories of quiet desperation that you can only reflect on in your quietest moments while your family sleeps, stories of resilience and ingenuity. Do you know how many dishes you can stretch out in the three days of leftovers if you just substitute mushrooms for meat? Things you learn while you're on SNAP."
Santamaria rejected the idea that people on SNAP are freeloaders who should seek employment; he says while his wife was eligible for the program, he frequently had to prove to the government that he was searching for work.
"And so I had to constantly make sure that they had access to my tax records and everything every time that it was time to renew our SNAP," he said. "So it isn't a free ride. It's tough out there, And what you don't see from the recipient that's getting it is they also have a family to support. You have kids. You have a spouse."
Although the Trump administration initially refused to fund SNAP benefits, a lawsuit filed by nearly half the states — including Nevada — resulted in court rulings that required the government to fund benefits for November, at least partially, using reserve funds. An appeals court declined to overturn the decision, and the government said it would fully fund November benefits while it appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, late Friday evening, the Supreme Court paused the lower court's order requiring full payouts.
In Nevada, state Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Clark County, says she and her fellow Democrats will try to introduce a bill in the special session to use state funds to pay for SNAP benefits.
Cannizzaro said about 500,000 Nevadans — about 15.5% of the state's population — is getting SNAP benefits, or one out of every seven residents.
"We are going to ensure that Nevadans receive their full equivalent of SNAP benefits for the month of November, and we're going to ensure that we are setting aside additional funding to ensure that we're prepared in case Republicans in D.C. refuse to do their job and feed Nevadans," she said.
Republicans have approved a budget resolution that would have funded the government until mid-November, but Democrats in the U.S. Senate have blocked it, since 60 votes are required to end debate. There have been more than a dozen attempts to pass the GOP resolution, but all have failed.
Democrats say they won't vote to reopen the government until Republicans agree to pass an extension of tax cuts under the Affordable Care Act. But Republicans have said they won't negotiate until the government is reopened.
Meanwhile, negotiations over precisely what will appear on the special session's agenda are ongoing between Gov. Joe Lombardo and legislative leaders.
But for Santamaria, the legal and political battles are subordinate to the issue of feeding hungry people. Asked what he'd say to leaders in Washington, he had a simple message:
"Please help people out," he said. "People are scared. It isn't just that they're running out of food this weekend. They're already out of food. They've been stretching what they've had, and they're going to get angry. And you never know what's going to happen, but people are starting to suffer."