GOP Unveils Plan to Gut Food Stamp Program | Common Dreams

GOP Unveils Plan to Gut Food Stamp Program

- Common Dreams staff

House Republicans have passed their budget that includes slashing food stamps in an effort to save billions in cuts to the Pentagon.
House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan. House Republicans have started rolling out their austerity plan including massive cuts to the food stamp program. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/File) Politico reports that the changes mean "an average family of four would face an 11 percent cut in monthly benefits after Sept. 1 and, even more important, tighter enforcement of rules would require that households exhaust most of their liquid assets before qualifying for help."  The Associated Press adds that elegibility changes would knock 3 million people off the program completely.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops slammed the plan in a letter to the House Agriculture Committee saying lawmakers should “protect essential programs that serve poor and hungry people over subsidies that assist large and relatively well-off agricultural enterprises.”
The House passed the budget by a "deeming resolution" saying it was necessary due to Senate failure to pass a budget. In a statement on Monday House Republicans stated: "When the Senate refuses to act, the House must take steps to ensure that it can responsibly proceed with the appropriations and budget process," the statement said. "This is accomplished through the use of budget enforcement language in a rule, commonly called a 'deemer' because it 'deems' the House budget levels in place until there's a joint agreement between the House and Senate."

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Politico: Republicans to slash food stamps

From food stamps to child tax credits and Social Service block grants, House Republicans began rolling out a new wave of domestic budget cuts Monday but less for debt reduction — and more to sustain future Pentagon spending without relying on new taxes. [...]
At one level, the pro-Pentagon, anti-tax stance fits traditional Republican doctrine. And the whole goal is to come up with enough savings to forestall automatic spending cuts that will fall most heavily on the Defense Department in January.
But what’s also driving the latest cuts is a newer narrative, voiced by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), that the social safety net is at risk of becoming a “hammock.” And even as the unemployment rate has begun to fall, conservatives are alarmed that the level of income-related government benefits continues to rise. [...]
An average family of four would face an 11 percent cut in monthly benefits after Sept. 1 and, even more important, tighter enforcement of rules would require that households exhaust most of their liquid assets before qualifying for help. This hits hardest among the long-term unemployed, who would be forced off the rolls until they have spent down their savings to less than $2,000 in many cases.

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