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After Cyberattack Hamstrings Emergency Services and Nevadans’ Labor Day Travel Plans, Lombardo Waits Five Days to Address Public

Press Release Issued by the Nevada Democratic Party on August 29, 2025

While Nevadans still can’t access essential services like applying for food benefits and renewing vehicle registrations, Joe Lombardo was sipping wine with campaign donors. Despite Lombardo making his law enforcement background his entire campaign, he couldn’t face Nevadans as Nye County police were unable to dispatch state police officers when residents called 911. While this partial government shutdown drags on and Nevadans’ Labor Day plans are disrupted, Lombardo continues to prove over and over that he is unfit to lead the state in crisis.   

Here’s the rundown of the last six days: After hackers stole Nevada state data, Lombardo ditched his own press conference on the cyberattack for a campaign event, prompting widespread backlash about his lack of leadership in this statewide crisis. Then, Lombardo tried to do damage control, holding another press conference less than 24 hours later to paper over his absence. Instead of reassuring Nevadans about this massive data breach, No Show Joe spent the press conference trying to defend his absence and dodging questions. After throwing a temper tantrum at the podium, Lombardo fled to a county club for another campaign event and Nevadans still have zero answers on what happened and when many key essential services will reopen.  

Here’s what people are saying about Lombardo’s lack of leadership during this dangerous cyberattack:

Print

Fox Reno: Gov. Lombardo hosts press conference on cyber attack after missing Wednesday’s conference

Fox 5 Vegas: Was personal information stolen? Nevada Governor discusses cyberattack for first time publicly

ABC 13: We brought your worries about the cyberattack affecting state services directly to Gov. Joe Lombardo

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Sluggish outlook may lead to drop in Labor Day weekend visits to Las Vegas

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada governor defends absence, calls cyberattack his most serious crisis

ABC 13: Gov. Lombardo defends handling of Nevada cyberattack crisis

3 News: What could be the political fallout from Lombardo’s press conference absence?

Nevada Current: Cyber attack briefing: Data taken ‘out of network’; lots of assurances; few details; and no governor

Nevada Independent: Nevada targeted in ransomware attack; some data taken out of state, officials say 

On the Airwaves

Abel Garcia, Channel 13: “Governor Joe Lombardo facing criticism from a local grassroots group”

Latoya Simon, Channel 3: “One of the questions that people have been asking, is ‘where has Governor Lombardo been during the cyber incident,’ including why he didn’t attend the news conference yesterday in Carson City?”

Nevada Resident Manuel Santamaria, Channel 3: “He should have been there. It’s his priority as the governor of the state of Nevada. This isn’t the biggest state in terms of population. You would think that he has enough of his own time to give to everybody. So I believe his excuses were poor. He should always have that in front of mind, right? Always be out front helping the people of Nevada. And he’s failed to do that time and time again.” 

Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill, Fox 5 News: “The dispatchers are having to take as brief of notes as they possibly can in handwriting on a piece of paper, dispatch the unit, they’re having to keep track on another piece of paper of where their units are. It absolutely is an officer safety issue. … Our computer-aided dispatch system shows the GPS location based on the computer in the car. We don’t have that right now. If somebody were to come on the air and scream, I need help, they don’t know where they are.”

Nevada Resident, Channel 3: “I was coming to get food stamps for me and my kids, but the office, I guess their system is down.” 

On Social

@ralstonreports: So they held a presser on 4-day-old massive hack of NV government, gave almost no new info and the gov was not there:

“During the question portion….state officials would not provide additional facts that were not already stated in prepared remarks.”

@howardstutz: Lombardo doesn’t want to answer any more questions about his absence at the Wednesday presser:
“I’m here taking care of business, and it never swayed for my responsibility as your governor. This press conference is to provide our current situation.”

@SteveSebelius: Gov. @JosephMLombardo on Thursday defended his handling of the cyber attack against the state, saying he’s been involved in the response since the start despite skipping a Wednesday news conference in Carson City.

@BattleBornProg: While government services are still offline and Nevadans want answers to the cyberattack on our data, Joe Lombardo thinks wine tasting with big business is more important. #NoShowJoe

“A Republic, if you can keep it.” B. Franklin

Well, that didn’t take long. Trump has been in office now for less than a year, but he has just boldly revealed his ultimate goal. On Monday (8/25/25), Trump told reporters at the Oval Office, “A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we like a dictator.’” On Tuesday, he added, “Most people are saying, ‘If you call him a dictator, if he stops crime, he can be whatever he wants’ — I am not a dictator, by the way.” But he also claimed to have “the right to do anything I want to do,” which is actually the very essence of dictatorship.

Despite his claim of not being a dictator, his use of the phrase “people are saying” is classic Trump. It’s one of his ways of laying the groundwork to justify his later actions. He likes to imagine in his fantasy world that many, if not most, Americans agree with him. So now he is trying to imply that a majority of Americans actually want a dictator as a leader. And, despite his protestations, it goes without saying that he thinks it should be him. He won’t call it a dictatorship though. It will be something like President for Life.

Naturally he fully expects the Republicans in Congress to go along with this plan since they all suffer from TTS (Trump Toady Syndrome). And the Supreme right-wing Court will merely say that it is a political matter outside of their jurisdiction. They have already granted him immunity from any consequences for illegal actions while in office. It seems that there is not a single Republican in any branch of our government who is willing to fulfill his or her oath to “preserve and protect” the Constitution, least of all, Trump.

In the meantime, Trump continues to subject Americans, including citizens, to unconstitutional dictatorial actions daily. He shows disdain for the laws and ignores the courts. He is building his own paramilitary force and assuming control of cities he doesn’t like. He is attacking his “enemies” with “lawfare,” coercion, and outright extortion. He is trying to assume control of the entire economy (don’t forget that he has a history of bankruptcy). He, along with his Republican toadies, are working hard to restrict voting rights (mostly of minorities but recently some voices on the Right have said that women should not be allowed to vote either). And so on and so on.

His deployment of ICE and the military into blue cities is specifically intended to provoke a reaction against the troops. No matter how minor, he will then use that reaction as an excuse to invoke the Insurrection Act. This will give him the authority to flood cities and states with military units. The mass arrests of Democrats will likely follow including Senators, Representatives, Governors, past Presidents, and other Democratic leaders. The concentration camps have already been built ostensibly just for the deportable immigrants, but they can hold Trump’s enemies as well. I believe that the mid-term election results will either be rigged or cancelled altogether to eliminate the possibility of any reductions in the Republicans’ powers.

So, dear Mr. Franklin, I regret to inform you that we were not able to keep the Republic you gave us. We managed for nearly 250 years to have a mostly honorable government run by mostly honorable people. There were exceptions of course, but our Founding Fathers never anticipated the level of dishonor, incompetence, and corruption that we are seeing now. The Constitution was written under the assumption that the “best of the best” would be chosen to govern, but it tells us nothing about what to do when the “worst of the worst” seize and hold the levers of power. I fear that it may already be too late to recover our democracy. Any advice from you, even posthumously, would be very much appreciated.

Horsford on DOGE Misuse of Social Security Data: Not surprising, but Shocking Nonetheless

Press release issued by Congressman Steven Horsford on August 26, 2025

LAS VEGAS – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) responded today to whistle-blower allegations that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), posted a highly sensitive Social Security database to a vulnerable cloud server, placing the personal information of hundreds of thousands of Americans at risk of being leaked or hacked.

Congressman Horsford, who sits on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, led his Democratic colleagues in a Resolution of Inquiry (ROI) on April 10 demanding all documents related to DOGE-driven cuts, closures, and staff reductions at the Social Security Administration.

Rather than address Horsford’s concerns and uphold Congressional oversight responsibilities, Speaker Johnson and Congressional Republicans in April paused all ROIs through September 30, 2025.

Rep. Horsford released the following statement:

“It’s not surprising that the cabal who executed the largest data breach in American history has left the sensitive information they stole vulnerable to cyber criminals,” Rep. Horsford said. “But it’s shocking nevertheless to think that this is happening with the President’s blessing and Congressional Republican capitulation.”

The news comes just weeks after the Elon Musk-run pseudo federal agency which claimed to target wasteful government spending, was found to have squandered nearly $22 billion in taxpayer money.

“The time for accountability is right now,” Horsford continued. “I’m calling on Speaker Johnson and Congressional Republicans to stop their obstruction and join Democrats in demanding oversight. This administration has placed my constituents’ most sensitive information in harm’s way – they owe every Nevadan, and every single American, an explanation as to why.”

Rep. Horsford, who is Nevada’s only lawmaker on the House Ways and Means Committee, represents nearly 150,000 Social Security recipients in Nevada’s 4th Congressional District. 

He has been an outspoken critic on the Trump Administration’s efforts to end Social Security as the American people know it.

February 25, 2025
Rep. Horsford spoke out when DOGE targeted a Social Security office in Las Vegas for closure without warning local leaders. The administration has since retreated from the planned closure. 

March 5, 2025

Rep. Horsford co-led the Keeping Our Field Offices Open Act, which would prevent the Trump Administration from closing Social Security Administration offices. 

March 19, 2025

Rep. Horsford raised an alarm about Trump administration plans in a leaked memo from SSA Acting Deputy Commissioner Doris Diaz that would significantly hamper operations and prevent people from applying for or receiving benefits. The memo suggested that applicants who cannot verify their identity with the SSA’s online system should visit a local field office in person, ending the opportunity for these individuals to apply for, or update, benefits over the phone. 

April 10, 2025

Rep. Horsford led Ways and Means Committee Democrats in introducing a Resolution of Inquiry (ROI) requesting all documents and copies, records, audio recordings, memorandum, and more to the House of Representatives relating to backdoor benefit cuts that President Trump and Elon Musk enacted against the Social Security Administration, including requirements to apply for benefits in person, closing field and hearing offices, and reductions to SSA staff. 

Video of Rep. Horsford’s comments is available here.

June 25, 2025

Rep. Horsford questioned Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano on Trump administration efforts to close SSA offices and roll back earned benefits. During his questioning, Rep. Horsford asked whether Commissioner Bisignano would work to ensure all field offices are not only fully operational, but also better staffed, more efficient, and equipped to meet the growing needs of the public. Bisignano, who was visibly and audibly noncommittal throughout his testimony, said yes only after Horsford demanded a yes or no answer.

Video of Rep. Horsford’s interactions with SSA Commissioner Bisignano is available here.

Say goodbye to Capitalism and hello to the MAGA-Republican Marxist-Maoist strategy.

Donald Trump announced today that he has taken a 10 percent equity stake in Intel Corp, allegedly on behalf of the US Government.

With a convicted felon and ethically challenged businessman at the head of he government, one can never be sure about the details of such a transaction.

As just one example of his money-making scheme under the banner of the Presidency, taxpayers are currently paying for his Qatari Jumbo Jet upgrade, estimated at between $400 million and a billion dollars, which will revert to his personal use through his donation-rich library after he leaves office.

Of course, the first “lady,” Melania, raked in $40 million to license her documentary about returning to the White House, adding to the $10 million Trump received from Musk’s X, arguably as a donation, and the “meme coin” venture bringing in additional millions to him and his family.

But for laughs, let’s assume that the Intel deal, ostensibly supported by Congressional Republicans, is a US government venture.

If so, it contributes to the MAGA-Republican Marxist-Maoist strategy of utilizing government resources to seize control of private enterprises’ corporate boards, take over strategic decision-making, and thereby implement government-controlled investment policies.

 Say Goodbye, Adam Smith, Friedrich Hayek, Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, and millions of others living under the illusion of Constitution-based Capitalism, especially those billionaires thinking that Trump’s venture is on their side of the Capitalist equation.

Horsford on Inspecting Pahrump ICE Facility: Congressional Oversight is Never Optional

This Is A Press Release Issued by Congressman Steven Horsford

LAS VEGAS – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) on Tuesday conducted Congressional oversight of the Nevada Southern Detention Center (NSDC), a privately-owned facility managed by CoreCivic under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Pahrump, Nevada.

Horsford’s inspection came three weeks after he was denied entry to the same facility, and on the same day he sent a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security requesting an investigation into the incident.

“The Constitution is clear, and so are our laws – Congressional oversight is never optional,” Rep. Horsford said. “I am concerned that the Department of Homeland Security neglected its obligations when I initially tried to visit this facility. Based on conversations I had with detainees today, I’m also concerned that DHC used the past three weeks to make improvements before I arrived.

“I spoke with nine detainees today, and what they shared with me is deeply concerning,” Horsford continued. “Medical treatment can take weeks; detainees do not have reliable access to immigration attorneys or resources; and many have been moved across state lines in the dead of night without advanced notice or understanding of where they were going.

“What I saw today underscores the importance of Congressional oversight,” Horsford added. “It speaks to why administration officials must honor our Constitution, and why Members of Congress must fight to protect our authority. That is why I requested an investigation from the House Appropriations Committee today, and I look forward to working with the Committee to uphold our laws and our Constitution.”

Alarming footage highlighted in Horsford’s letter shows the facility warden refusing entry to the lawmaker and his staff, and labeling them, “security risks”. On-site staff went so far as to call law enforcement on the Congressman.

Horsford’s letter asks, in part, for an investigation into the Department of Homeland Security’s noncompliance on his previous visit, and for the committee to, “consider appropriate corrective actions, including the potential conditioning of future appropriations to ensure full adherence to Congressional oversight obligations as outlined under federal law.”

By law, no Member of Congress is required to give advanced notice to inspect an ICE facility.  Every appropriations package since 2020 explicitly states that funds cannot be used to prevent a member of Congress “from entering, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any facility operated by or for the Department of Homeland Security used to detain or otherwise house aliens.” 

Text of Rep. Horsford’s letter is available here.

Horsford, Nevada Dems to Trump Admin: Address Barriers to ‘No Tax on Tips’

This is a press release issued by Congressman Horsford on August 13, 2025

North Las Vegas – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) today joined U.S. Senators Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Rosen (D-NV) and Representatives Titus (NV-01) and Lee (NV-03) in sending a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary and Acting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Scott Bessent calling on the Trump Administration to address barriers in implementation of the ‘No Tax on Tips’ provisions that would hurt tipped workers in Nevada.

Horsford previously led Reps. Titus and Lee in a letter to Secretary Bessent on July 25 (attached) requesting that Treasury enact safeguards to prevent waste, fraud and abuse, and urging the list of eligible occupations include traditionally and customarily tipped industries like cosmetology, hospitality, food and beverage service, parking attendants, and custodial services.

In today’s letter, the lawmakers wrote, in part:

“As you know, H.R. 1, an Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14, provided that certain taxpayers may take a deduction of up to $25,000 annually to reduce or eliminate taxable income on tipped wages. This proposal closely models legislation introduced or cosponsored by Nevada lawmakers in both the House and Senate. As you know, Nevadans rely on tips more than any other state in the nation and tax relief has been a critical bipartisan priority. Given our work on proposals related to Section 70201, we would like to highlight the following issues for the Department of Treasury in order to ensure the successful implementation of this provision for our constituents and tipped workers across the country.”

Specifically, the Members call on the administration to:

  • Provide withholding as soon as practicable to ensure taxpayers feel tax relief this year
  • Maintain Gaming Industry Tip Compliance Agreements (GITCA) and related programs
  • Provide the ability for employees under a GITCA to take the tips deduction based on their tip rate if they choose
  • Include as eligible for the deduction tips from transactions with auto-gratuities or suggested tip amounts
  • Allow married individuals who file with a SSN on a joint return to be eligible for the deduction, regardless of the filing method of their spouse and allow up to $50,000 in deductions for married couples
  • Provide maximum clarity for filers regarding how to determine what occupation they serve in and how to determine eligibility for the deduction
  • Issue regulations that allow the ability of performing artists to use the deduction when their occupation otherwise has traditionally received tips

Read the full letter here.

Rep. Horsford is the author of the TIPS Act, which is the strongest proposal in Congress to protect tipped workers from taxes.

As the House of Representatives considered H.R. 1, Horsford repeatedly called for robust protections for tips, including a letter to Speaker Johnson urging him to make the proposal bipartisan.

Trumps Tarrif War reduces income

Donald Trump’s tariff rates, ranging from 10 to 41 percent on goods from more than 90 countries, took effect after midnight on Thursday.

His move to reignite his trade war, particularly against Canada, Mexico, and China, will result in a 2.7% reduction in income for the bottom 20% of earners, while the top 1% will lose 0.6%.

The Yale Budget Lab estimates that the overall price level resulting from all tariffs enacted in 2025 will lead to an average household income loss of $2,400 in 2025 dollars. Other analyses project even higher costs, with some estimating a $3,800 annual loss per household from consumer price increases tied to all 2025 tariffs.

While US tariff revenues have risen significantly, they still constitute a small portion of the federal budget deficit. The projected fiscal year 2025 federal budget deficit is $1.9 trillion. The increased tariff revenue, even with recent increases, amounts to roughly 7% of that figure. 

Such a minor increase in revenue puts to rest Trump‘s idea of entirely replacing the federal income tax with new tariffs.

To replace the roughly $2 trillion of revenue raised by the individual income tax with tariffs would require astronomically high tariff rates.

 Raising tariff rates to astronomically high levels would significantly depress imports, making it impossible to generate enough revenue to offset the costs of Trump’s tariff rates fully.

Watch Out! The GOP Is Coming After Your Money!

Like thieves in the night, the Republicans have been hiding their intentions in the shadows lest anyone find out what they are actually up to. And just like those thieves, they won’t break into your house through the front. Instead, they’ll go around to the back door. It’s not so obvious that way.

This week, a prominent member of the administration, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, proudly revealed their subtle plot. On Wednesday, he stated that the so-called “Trump accounts” Republicans created for children in their tax and spending bill are “a back door for privatizing Social Security.”(1) Like the thieves, the Republicans can’t be up front about their plans, they have to sneak through a “back door.”

The Republicans ultimate goal, the destruction of Social Security (along with Medicare and Medicaid), has always been somewhat out in the open. We’ve all known it, but until Bessent’s statement, it was something that most Republicans would vigorously deny.

In fact, Republicans have stated over and over again that they were not planning to touch Social Security. Unfortunately, they said the same things about Medicare and Medicaid, and we have all seen what happened to those programs when they took power.

The GOP would object and say, “We’re not planning to destroy Social Security; we just want to ‘privatize’ it.” But what would that mean? It means that your money will be taken from the safe and secure government accounts and distributed to private investment firms and banks — you know those kinds of businesses in which the C-suite executives are paid tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars. Where do you think that money comes from?

And, while they’re at it, the Republicans also plan to eliminate all fiscal regulations on these firms such as fiduciary requirements. That will allow all manner of investor fraud to occur, not to mention abuse and waste.

The argument they make is that private firms can earn higher returns on investment than the government. This may be true in some cases, but it is also true that investment firms and banks have, at times, lost money through overly risky opportunities and sheer incompetence. Some of these firms have even gone bankrupt losing all of their clients’ capital (after paying out inordinate sums to their executives in salary and bonus packages). Remember the financial crisis of 2008? It included the collapses of Lehmann Brothers and Bear Stearns as well as the government bailouts (using taxpayer dollars) of JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley because they were “too big to fail.” Again, your money became their money without them having to go through the trouble of breaking the law.

Of course, once your funds are in the hands of these greedy people, you can expect to be charged all manner of “fees” in order to help pay for the exorbitant salaries and bonuses. There will be “maintenance fees,” “investment fees,” “administrative fees,” and so on. I anticipate that, under this scenario, the “fees” will steadily grow no matter what your return on investment is. Rather than receiving an annual letter from the Social Security Administration telling you about next year’s increase in your payments, you’re likely to get a bill from your investment banker for next year’s inflated fees.

But Social Security is going broke the Republicans argue. Yet they won’t take common-sense steps to save it like removing the arbitrary cap on Social Security taxes. It’s only there to keep the wealthy from having to pay more. Rather than save the program, the GOP would prefer to let it self-destruct even if it means that millions of Americans, some of whom are Republicans, will lose their only source of income.

Why are Republicans so adamant about privatizing Social Security? Because they see this HUGE pot of money in the government’s coffers that they and their billionaire backers can’t get their hands on. They lust after that money to the point of obsession. They aren’t really concerned about whose money it is, as long as they can get it somehow: like thieves in the night.

(1) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/business/bessent-trump-social-security.html

Nevadans Losing Food Stamps

THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE NEVADA DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Wednesday, Jul. 30, 2025
The Nevada Independent: 1 in 6 Nevadans Get Food Stamps. Many May Lose Benefits Under Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’

“In a state with increasing food insecurity, more than 130,000 food stamp recipients will have their eligibility reevaluated”
Last week, reporting from the Nevada Independent showed how Trump and Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” will result in hundreds of thousands of families in Nevada either losing SNAP food benefits or seeing cuts to them. According to the article, Republican cuts to the program, made in an effort to offset tax cuts that are “primarily for the highest earners”, will mean “more Nevadans are going hungry”. 

One in six Nevadans, roughly 500,000 people, rely on the SNAP program and an estimated “265,000 families could lose all or some of their benefits, with 85,000 families facing at least $25 in monthly benefit losses”. According to the chief operations and strategy officer for Three Square, Nevada’s largest food bank, this will result in “kids having fewer meals, seniors literally having to skip dinner and ration more than they already do and then families that are working so many jobs and can barely make ends meet already.” 

Further, the article details how the Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” will downshift tens of millions of dollars in additional costs to Nevada’s state budget. Under the bill, the state will have to cover between $50 million and $150 million of SNAP benefits costs annually, in addition to tens of millions of dollars more to cover the program’s administrative costs. According to one expert, that “will make it harder for the state to run the program effectively, which could result in higher error rates that will force Nevada to cover some of the benefit costs.”

Despite the immense harm the bill will do to Nevadans, Joe Lombardo has on multiple occasions praised the bill, saying both that Nevadans should be “excited” by it and thanking Speaker Mike Johnson for coming to Nevada to try to sell the bill. 

Read more below:

The Nevada Independent: 1 in 6 Nevadans get food stamps. Many may lose benefits under Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill.’
 The “One Big Beautiful Bill” signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month is likely to upend the food assistance program that serves 1 in 6 Nevadans, with expanded work requirements threatening thousands of recipients’ eligibility and the state expected to shoulder more of the program’s administrative costs.

The legislation cuts nationwide food stamp funding by about $186 billion through 2034, or a fifth of the total federal dollars allocated to the program. Its inclusion is an effort to offset some of the costs of extending tax cuts that will result in lower taxes across all income brackets, but primarily for the highest earners.

Food stamps, officially referred to as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), provide cash assistance for low-income individuals to buy food at certain retailers. Although the full impact of the cuts have yet to be fully assessed by the state, early indications are that the bill will result in hundreds of thousands of Nevada families losing or seeing a reduction in their benefits.

Changes made in the bill will have far-ranging results: The eligibility of more than 130,000 Nevadans could be in doubt because of changes to work requirements, benefit amounts are less likely to increase over time, and the state will have to cover more administrative costs, which researchers say will result in less attention directed toward rooting out errors in the program.

About 500,000 Nevadans participate in the program, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The average Nevada household on SNAP received $166 in monthly benefits, amounting to about $6 daily and $2,000 annually, according to an analysis from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The Urban Institute, an economic think tank, estimated that 265,000 families in Nevada could lose all or some of their benefits, with 85,000 families facing at least $25 in monthly benefit losses.

The bill has resulted in significant angst from officials focused on eliminating hunger in the Silver State — and it’s come at potentially the worst possible time. Inflation remains stubbornly high, the Trump administration has already cut certain food programs, food banks across the state have reported increasing demand in recent months and a surge in federal pandemic aid that expanded SNAP and other food programs is drying up.

All of it means more Nevadans are going hungry.
 Segler from Three Square added that “this is taking [recipients’] livelihood away.” “The things I think about are kids having fewer meals, seniors literally having to skip dinner and ration more than they already do and then families that are working so many jobs and can barely make ends meet already,” she said.

The federal government has always fully funded SNAP benefits, leaving implementation to the states. But under the new law, states could have to shoulder some of the food costs.

States with a payment error rate above 6 percent — meaning there was either underpayment or overpayment on at least 6 percent of benefit payouts — would be required to cover between 5 percent and 15 percent of total benefit costs starting in 2028. In fiscal year 2024, Nevadans received about $1 billion in benefits, so Nevada would need to pay between $50 million and $150 million if the error rate is too high.

Still, no matter the error rates, Nevada and other states will have to foot more of the administrative costs.

Previously, the federal government reimbursed half of the dollars tied to food stamp administration, but beginning in fiscal year 2027, states will have to cover 75 percent of the costs.

In fiscal year 2025, the projected administrative cost to the state was about $83 million, which the state will pay half of, according to Muessle, the state spokesperson, but the state’s payment would have increased by about $20 million under the new model. Muessle said that the administrative cost for fiscal year 2026 is expected to be about $100 million.

Plata-Nino added that this will make it harder for the state to run the program effectively, which could result in higher error rates that will force Nevada to cover some of the benefit costs.

McDonough, the UNLV economist, added that the implications of the bill go beyond “whether people have empty stomachs.” “It’s really about potential rising health care costs stemming from these externalities, students struggling in school, lost productivity in the workplace, and then just putting sort of these community partnership programs, food banks under real financial strain,” he said.