U.S. Sen. Angus King is co-sponsoring new legislation that would force the Trump administration to release funding for federal food assistance programs to allow benefits to continue uninterrupted during the ongoing government shutdown.

The Keep SNAP and WIC Funded Act directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to immediately release billions of dollars in available funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.

The proposed legislation would also require the federal government to reimburse states if they choose to cover SNAP benefits during a shutdown, according to King’s office.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., would be retroactive to the beginning of the shutdown.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that it will not fund SNAP benefits in November. The program is used by 42 million Americans, including nearly 170,000 Mainers. Funding for that program is set to expire Saturday.

King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, and Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, are both co-sponsoring another, similar bill — the Keep SNAP Funded Act, introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri — that would ensure benefit payments continue during the shutdown.

“Maine families, children, veterans and seniors shouldn’t have to worry about losing access to food assistance because of political tactics,” King said in a written statement. “No one in this country should ever have to choose between paying the electric bill and putting dinner on the table. The Keep SNAP and WIC Funded Act is about decency and plain common sense, and it keeps faith with the Maine people who count on us most. In all our history, a shutdown has never meant Americans go hungry — and it shouldn’t start now.”

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said this week it would cost her department $9.2 billion to fund November SNAP benefits, administrative costs and nutrition block grants, and that the USDA does not have that money on hand.

But King said that, by law, the Trump administration is required to use billions in available funding to keep SNAP benefits flowing in November, and that guidance from the USDA confirms the agency has the authority to use available funding during a shutdown.

Collins announced last week that she is co-sponsoring Hawley’s Keep SNAP Funded Act, which would be retroactive to the beginning of the shutdown.

“No American should face hunger because of partisan brinkmanship in Washington. SNAP is a lifeline for more than 170,000 Mainers, including 50,000 children and 73,000 older adults, who rely on this critical nutrition assistance,” Collins said in a written statement. “As Congress works to resolve the needless and reckless government shutdown, passing this legislation to ensure that SNAP payments continue without interruption is a top priority.”

Collins also sent a letter last week to Rollins urging her to “take all possible steps” to continue SNAP benefits despite the shutdown.

“The SNAP program is incredibly important to low-income families in Maine,” Collins wrote. “I urge you to consider all available options in accordance with federal law to ensure that this vital nutrition assistance continues, including the use of contingency funds and looking at the viability of partial payments or any transfer authority you may have.”

State officials in Maine have also been pushing the Trump administration to distribute SNAP benefits in November.

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey on Tuesday joined a multistate lawsuit seeking to force the Trump administration to use $5 billion in contingency funding approved by Congress to continue providing SNAP benefits.

Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday announced $1.25 million in new funding for Maine food pantries and anti-hunger programs to help offset the loss of benefits, with the funding coming from the governor’s contingency account and the nonprofit John T. Gorman Foundation.

Earlier Wednesday, she told reporters that her administration was “considering all options” to respond to the loss of SNAP benefits, including calling lawmakers into a special session of the Legislature and possibly tapping the state’s roughly $1 billion “rainy day” fund.

Staff Writer Rachel Ohm contributed to this report.