USDA Opposes States' Ask for Block of SNAP Data Demand
The federal government urged a court to reject a claim from a coalition of states that's seeking to block the collection of personally identifiable information (PII) about millions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients while litigation regarding the legality of the data demand is pending. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) made the request in a court document Tuesday, claiming the states' case is unlikely to succeed on its claims.
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Last month, the coalition of 20 states, plus Washington, D.C., submitted a motion for a preliminary injunction, after filing a lawsuit against the federal government over its data demand in July (see 2508190046). Case 3:25-cv-06310 is in the U.S. District Court for Northern California.
In response, the USDA argued it has "abided by authority permitting the information gathering, justified its actions, and meticulously followed the procedures required by the Privacy Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)," so the "plaintiffs, therefore, cannot establish entitlement to a preliminary injunction."
"Plaintiffs waited three weeks after filing their complaint to bring this motion [for an injunction], undermining their claims to urgency and irreparable harm," USDA added. Moreover, an injunction would harm the government as it "would limit the President’s ability to effectuate the policies the American people elected him to pursue, including the President’s ability to identify fraud, waste, and abuse in this critical program."
Additionally, there are regulations that "outline a detailed administrative review process of USDA’s decision to suspend or disallow funds," which "is still in its early phases," so the states' claims are not ripe, the department added. "Judicial intervention at this stage would prematurely abridge the process," and the states "face no hardship as the process plays out."