We look closer now at Nevada's plans for helping snap recipients at risk of losing their benefits.

Republican Governor Joe Lombardo addressed that with reporters following a press conference about a landmark grant to support the growth of public charter schools in the state.

It took place at Vegas Vista Academy, a public charter school with a dual language program including Spanish and now Hawaiian instruction.

The Las Vegas nonprofit opportunity won 80, received the grant worth $51 million, reportedly the largest U.S.

Department of Education grant ever rewarded to a Nevada nonprofit and a win for Governor.

Lombardo, who in 2023 when he first took office, said he wanted to be known as the education governor.

I would be remiss in not admitting I didn't know everything there was to be known about education and the failures of education and and what programs would bring success.

But I pride myself on bringing, the people who are smarter me together.

And today is a culmination of that.

you can make a clear statement that every child deserves a quality education and every parent deserves a choice.

And, we are in a crisis in education in this country, and it's not an either or.

It's an all of the above.

U.S.

Representative Suzy Lee of Nevada, who you saw there was also at that press conference and after called the Trump administration's plans to cut Snap benefits cruel.

She also said she disagrees with the governor's plan to help the nearly 500,000 Nevadans who may lose their Snap benefits on November 1st.

His plan is called the Food Insecurity Nevada Plan, and would utilize $38.8 million from the state's contingency fund and emergency work programs.

That money would go directly to Nevada food banks and the Nevada National Guard would assist with food distribution.

Representative Lee said that's not nearly enough, considering Nevadans receive about $90 million in Snap benefits every month from the federal government.

She thinks the state should draw on its rainy day fund and pay Snap recipients directly.

Governor Lombardo said it could take the state up to six weeks to do that, and would also violate USDA restrictions, threatening potential reimbursement.

The restrictions in Snap, though, are troublesome.

And what I mean by that, it's administered by the feds through a third party vendor.

So you're saying, well, why don't we do, bonding towards that effort?

Why don't we do loans as a state towards that effort?

Because it's a monumental amount to almost $90 million, right?

We're allocating approximately $40 million to that effort.

I want everybody to keep in mind that we can't seamlessly adopt that into the federal system, because there's confidentiality that goes along with the recipients and the ability to utilize that in that space and future reimbursement.

If we were to engage for the federal government, through bonding or loan programs in that totality of expense, we would not receive future reimbursement for that cause.

They are willing to let 495,000 Nevadans go hungry.

Half of those are children go hungry to prove a political, point, nothing could be more cruel.

And this governor does have a choice, and he is complicit.

If he does not use the emergency fund.

We have $1.3 billion in emergency fund.

And you just heard him put up every excuse to not do it.

Okay?

This is an emergency you can use.

It's $90 million a month to fully fund Snap benefits.

Okay.

You could use data, and there is ways to turn it around quicker than six weeks to provide emergency payments to individuals in lieu of their Snap benefits, so that they can purchase food.

if the end fund balance gets below, 5%, with payment on different functionalities of state government, we can conceivably dip into the rainy day fund.

There's always those availabilities to solve people's problems.

And I'm not turning a blind eye.

This is not satisfactory to me.

To the tune of 38, $40 million.

Obviously that still bothers me even though it is supplemental.

I think we need to make it whole in that aspect as we move forward.

When asked why just $38 million, Governor Lombardo said that's what's available to address the immediate need.