Republicans Advocating for Cuts to Food Stamps Would Affect Nearly 4 Million Americans
Republicans in congress are continuing with their desire to reduce the already nominal amount Americans families receive from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as food stamps.
Republicans have continually supported the cuts in order to make the program more sustainable and would do so by tightening eligibility requirements; most notable of those would be eligibility requirements on able-bodied adults younger than 55 without dependents.
"I think a lot of our members want to finally make real reforms to the food-stamp program," said Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican and senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over the programs.
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"While you have a safety net you shouldn't be giving welfare benefits to people who are able-bodied and capable of getting a job who just choose to continue to get food stamps when they can actually go and work," he explained.
While the current suggestion of annually reducing food stamp funding by $4 billion ($2 billion more than what was originally proposed) may not seem like a great deal of money considering the roughly $80 billion spent per year on the program.
1.7 million people would be forced to forgo benefits in 2014 if the state waivers are repealed as proposed by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), according to the Congressional Budget Office. Another 2.1 million would be dropped due to tighter eligibility rules backed by the GOP.
On average, CBO estimates that a total of 2.8 million people would lose their benefits over the next decade, and another 850,000 households will see an average reduction of about $90 a month in benefits when the average household receiving food assistance gets roughly $300 per month.
The net 10-year savings for the government would be approximately $39 billion-- nearly double what was first recommended by the House Agriculture Committee in June.
"Instead of appointing farm bill conferees, the Republican leadership has decided to move forward with an unnecessary and divisive nutrition bill," said Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture panel. "Even if this bill is defeated, as it should be, I worry the debate will eliminate any remaining goodwill needed to pass a farm bill."
"The majority is again catering to the extremes of their party, pushing messaging bills to nowhere. It's time to get serious. If they will just get out of our way, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees can work together and provide farmers, ranchers and consumers the certainty of a five-year farm bill."
Over the summer the leader of Catholic Church brought the conversation back to the attention of the needs of the less fortunate when he equated an individual's food waste to stealing from the poor during his address for World Environment Day at St. Peters Square back in June.
"We should all remember, however, that throwing food away is like stealing from the tables of the poor, the hungry! I encourage everyone to reflect on the problem of thrown away and wasted food to identify ways and means that, by seriously addressing this issue, are a vehicle of solidarity and sharing with the needy," the Pope said.
"If in so many parts of the world there are children who have nothing to eat, that's not news, it seems normal. It cannot be this way! Yet these things become the norm: that some homeless people die of cold on the streets is not news. In contrast, a ten point drop on the stock markets of some cities, is a tragedy," he added.
