TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — Tuesday, house Republicans tried, again, to elect a new Speaker of the House.
And failed, again.
1,300 miles away in Fort Worth, the President of a food bank watched on, and is bracing for impact.
"We have been watching very closely," Julie Butner, President and CEO of the Tarrant Area Food Bank told WFAA. "Without the budget being passed, without the farm bill being passed, we’re blindsided."
The farm bill houses all federally-funded nutrition programs and is due for reauthorization, Butner said, and those funds account for half of her revenue.
But congress hasn’t gotten to reauthorizing the farm bill yet, tied up without a speaker. Which means Butner has no idea how much money she’ll be working with next year, or when she’ll find out.
"We don’t know how we’re going to be supported by the federal government going forward," she said Tuesday. "It Imakes it very difficult to anticipate and prepare for the future."
The bigger threat though, Butner said, is the looming threat of a government shutdown. The government temporarily avoided a shutdown with a stopgap funding bill earlier this month. But that only lasts until November 17, when a shutdown could happen if lawmakers can't make a deal.
"And that is not only a disaster for families, but it also puts food banks in a really tough spot," Jared Williams, Vice President of Advocacy for the TAFB said.
A shutdown, he told WFAA Tuesday, would not only slow the food bank's funding, but also pause food assistance programs that feed folks in need.
That includes programs like WIC, which helps low-income mothers and children, Butner said. About 675,000 Texans rely on WIC, according to Every Texan.
"Food banks have experienced the perfect storm," Williams added.
If that happens, the food bank expects an influx of those people, plus any furloughed employees to rely on them, on top of the record number of folks they are already working to serve.
"My hope is that our elected officials get their act together," Butner said.