GOP Cut Taxes for Big Corporations. Now They Want to Gut Food Assistance for Children, Seniors.

After passing nearly $2 trillion in tax cuts for corporate special interests and the super-rich, Republicans are now working to slash food assistance for more than 3 million Americans, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities. This cruel policy proposal comes after Senate Republicans have threatened to use earned benefits like Social Security and Medicare to pay for their “lopsided” tax giveaway that boosted the wealthiest while leaving working families behind.

“Senate Republicans had no problem giving billions of dollars in tax breaks to giant corporations and their wealthy donors, and now their party is pushing to take away food assistance for those who need it, including children, seniors and people with disabilities,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Stewart Boss. “This is the latest in a steady stream of Republican policies that will hurt their constituents, and Republican incumbents will be forced to defend this harmful agenda.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Reuters: Trump administration rule would cut 3 million people from food stamps

By Tom Polansek and Humeyra Pamuk

July 23, 2019

Key Points: 

• The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed a rule to tighten food stamp eligibility that would cut about 3.1 million people from the program, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials said.

• The administration billed the move as a way to save money and help eliminate what it sees as widespread abuse of the program, but Democrats and advocacy groups criticized it as an attack on the nation’s poorest.

• “This rule would take food away from families, prevent children from getting school meals, and make it harder for states to administer food assistance,” said Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

• SNAP provides free food to some 40 million Americans, or about 12% of the total U.S. population.

• The liberal-leaning Center For American Progress advocacy group said the proposal would hurt the poor “by forcing states to take food assistance away from those with even modest savings of a few thousand dollars,” and raise administrative costs for states.

• In 2016, the CBO said there were concerns the move would eliminate benefits for households in difficult financial situations and increase the complexity and time needed to process SNAP applications.

Read the full story here.

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