While Public Welfare recipients across the United States won't see any federal assistance come November until further notice, on Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero has signed Bill 1 (4-S) into law, directing $13.1 million in unobligated local excess revenue from Fiscal Year 2025 to the Department of Public Health and Social Services to fund the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Program for the upcoming month. The funds, now enacted as Public Law 38-75, ensure families continue receiving benefits while the federal government remains shut down.
Leon Guerrero said the measure provides “peace of mind” to families who depend on the programs for food assistance. “While our Administration’s strong fiscal policy has ensured that our finances can carry our community through this unanticipated disruption in SNAP and WIC funding, we must be mindful that the instability of national politics may lead to future gaps in federal funding that our island relies on,” she wrote to Speaker Frank Blas Jr. in a letter Monday.
The governor emphasized the need for continued fiscal vigilance, urging the implementation of local measures to “maximize collection of revenues” and strengthen Guam’s financial resilience against “financial or political storms.” The swift passage of the bill reflects bipartisan support to safeguard critical public health programs amid uncertainty in Washington.
Governor’s Communications Director Krystal Paco-San Agustin confirmed that SNAP and WIC benefits will be uploaded beginning November 1. The move ensures that thousands of Guam residents who depend on nutritional assistance will not experience a disruption in their benefits.