Posted on 08/01/2013 11:58:40 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor promised his Democratic colleagues that they would put the food-stamp portion of the traditional “farm bill,” which they split from its usual “agricultural policy” copilot earlier this month, on the agenda in short order. Republicans, however, have been cooking up a new plan for the food-stamp program just about certain to send all Congressional Democrats into an almighty uproar, via Reuters:
U.S. House Republicans plan to propose a $40 billion cut to the nation’s food stamp program, the head of the House Agriculture Committee said on Thursday, twice the cuts previously sought by conservatives.
Committee Chairman Frank Lucas said legislation on the food assistance program, known as SNAP, would be the second part of any talks on the U.S. farm bill with the Senate.
Lucas told lobbyists that a Republican working group agreed on cuts expected to total $40 billion and could include steps such as mandatory drugs tests and employment rules.
If this idea makes into the proposed legislation, I’m thinking it will easily make its way out of the Republican-controlled House, and then they’ll have both a food-stamp bill and the disgrace of an agriculture bill they already passed to send into conference with the Senate’s still-omnibus version. That will not go well.
Democrats are going to be having the obvious hissyfits about how Republicans don’t care about poor people and want to gut a program whose enrollment has grown by 70 percent in less than five years, the horror, and the White House will almost certainly issue their usual veto threat on anything that makes even the slightest attempt at reforming our broken welfare state. I can see Harry Reid now, with all of the moral outrage of one fighting a completely fictitious evil demon: “Youuuuuuuuu! Shall not! Paaaaaaaaass!”
Those evil republicans want to starve people!
(just wanted to beat the crowd)
Oh my — that will take a lot of Bahama vacations out of a lot of food stamp recipient’s budgets.
Oh dear, the Republicans are going to be made out as trying to hurt the poor. Right in time for 2014 elections - don’t think the Dems won’t splatter this all over the media outlets.
How stupid can they get to dig their political graves?
Bahama vacations? WOW !
Where are you getting this piece of new from?
We can give billions to Egypt, but food stamps get cut?
Republicans must be ready to retire. I know that fundamentally I am opposed to government handouts, but this is not going to go well with people already struggling with the economy, jobs, and the doubling in the price of food.
(getting ready for the flames)
RE: How stupid can they get to dig their political graves?
Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
I see more and more people using food stamps at grocery check out.
The GOP needs to learn how to talk to people. You say the cuts are to help people keep from obesity in order to improve the quality of their lives. heh
Forcing the elderly to eat dog food again. /s
Exactly!
There are a lot of people on stamps that never imagined they would be. That doesn’t mean they won’t be irritated.
Let’s first cut:
- hundreds of billions of $ in subsidies to big banks (including foreign banks!) through the Fed and through massive, sustained interest rate suppression at the expense of pensioners, savers, tax payers, etc.
- hundreds of billions in subsidies and tax breaks for favored businesses and industries.
Stupid republicans, STUPID STUPID STUPID !!
SOURCE: HERITAGE FOUNDATION
http://blog.heritage.org/2011/12/09/food-stamp-fraud-costing-taxpayers-billions/
According to fiscal year 2010 data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maryland and Virginia distributed about $130 million in food stamps to individuals who were not eligible. For every $100 in benefits, those two states doled out $6.11 and $5.04, respectively, to those not eligible. The national average for that time was $3.05.
Inefficiency in the food stamp program spending is costing taxpayers billions. Of the $64.7 billion spent on the program last year (a record high that is only slated to increase), an overall $2.5 billion was spent on improper food stamp payments.
Another recent audit by the Department of Agriculture on the state of Kansas showed three major sources of inefficiency in the distribution of food stamp funds. While many recipients had invalid Social Security numbers and were double-dipping between federal and state programs, many of the recipients also happened to be dead. This has become a pervasive problem in the realm of government benefits. (The Social Security Administration also sends millions of dollars to recipients who are dead.)
Beyond protecting against fraud, the federal government should ensure that food stamps—not to mention the roughly 70 other federally funded welfare programs—are helping individuals become self-reliant rather than dependent on government. Half of food stamp recipients have received the benefit for 8.5 years or more.
Sorry, no more FreeStuff. The average American taxpayer can no longer afford luxury items like TV's, cars, housing, Whole Foods groceries, smartphones...or to pay for yours!
In script, not cursive.
It use to be only citizens could get food stamps; not those here on visas not illegals. Hopefully that is part of the proposals.
This proposal is at least a step in the right direction. The next step is to recognize that the states have never delegated to the feds, via the Constitution, the specific power to tax and spend for foodstamps.
The same goes for Obamacare.
Remember, if the Article V majority of states want federal foodstamp and healthcare programs, there’s nothing stopping them from amending the Constitution to grant Congress the specific powers that it needs to establish such programs.
While the facts of fraud are clear - we are dealing with low information voters who won’t bother to find these out. They will hear that Republicans want to starve them and will revolt at the polls.
This will be a win......for the democrats.
Shucks! Just when Hawaii is about to spend 100 thousand bucks flying the “homeless” back to the “mainland”. (Article here last night). This is going to cause a huge freeloader/amnesty dreamers train wreck and it isn’t going to be pretty.
I’m not against helping people to get back on their feet but we have millions of citizens, generation after generation, on food stamps.
People getting food stamps aren’t voting for them anyway. Cut everything.
The Stupid Party rides again.
They could choose to defund Obamacare and go home like heros, but noooooooo....they need to take food out of the mouths of those struggling to get by in Obama’s march-to-the-sea economy.
RE: This will be a win......for the democrats.
well, if that’s the case, then ANY attempt to cut a significant portion of our bloated budget will be a win for Democrats (Obamacare included ).
Should anyone even try then?
RE: They will hear that Republicans want to starve them and will revolt at the polls.
Well, if that’s the case, then ANY attempt to cut a significant portion of our bloated budget will be a win for Democrats (Obamacare included ).
Should anyone even try then?
Might as well let the waste continue until we eventually become Greece.
This is really where they want to stand their ground? They cant do anything right.
Half or more of the budget goes into bureaucracy, why can’t they just say they will cut that and not the benefits?
The Dems would really howl then.
I could go with that as a stipulation.
Now that they do many Freepers are now decrying the move.
My guess is that even if the House proposed 500 B in cuts they'd still get criticized here.
Drug tests for food stamps? Sounds like the House GOPers are loading up the bill with red meat for the base. That will never, ever see the light of day in the Senate without a serious fight with the Dems. If the leadership is going to toss this stuff out I expect them to stick to their guns.
Freepers have been gunning for the House to cut food stamps for months.
Now that they do many Freepers are now decrying the move.
My guess is that even if the House proposed 500 B in cuts they’d still get criticized here.
I don’t care what the beltway GOP propose. I care what they fight for. Big difference. I will buy you a clue, the beltway GOP are not going to engage the Dems and fight for these cuts. This is all dog and pony phony conservative distraction from the upcoming amnesty charade.
I’m not so sure we aren’t already Greece.
I can hear the Dems howling already. :=)
Well, in this case, should we ACCELERATE the process even more? Or slow it down?
We should certainly “try” to cut the bloated budget and I won’t pretend to know the best approach. All I am saying is that in the realm of public opinion, the dems will win on this one.
RE: All I am saying is that in the realm of public opinion, the dems will win on this one.
Should we expect the GOP congress to do the right thing, or worry about public opinion? Doing the right thing is oftentimes NOT popular.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
100% pure BS. Just a snap shot for gullible Republican voters. The GOP went into hibernation Jan, 2009.
Reuters is really lying for the Dems in this article.
The 20 billion savings is over 5 years but they make it sound like it’s over one year.
If we had an honest media no Democrat would ever be elected.
the cuts would only come from tightening eligibility standards and imposing new work requirements.
The savings from doing that are estimated at about 4 billion per year. About 5%.
We could get over twice the savings by just disallowing sodas and snack foods though.
What? They want children to starve to death!
Sorry, no more FreeStuff. The average American taxpayer can no longer afford luxury items like TV’s, cars, housing, Whole Foods groceries, smartphones...or to pay for yours!
**
Amen !!! Was out driving in one of our many welfare dense areas today and really got tired of seeing the Escapades, SUV’s, cadillacs, etc. driven by baby mamas and illegals. These people are putting one over on the American taxpayer.
Meanwhile, we drive a small compact and a 13 year old van around to save money and pay almost 40% of our income in taxes. I’m just dam sick of it — who ARE the slaves now??
RE: What? They want children to starve to death!
Let’s put it this way... if I gave my daughter a food allowance of $20.00 daily and I discover that she only spends $12 on average on food, am I starving her when I cut that food allowance to $15?
What do they look like? I've never even seen a "food stamp".
I’m just glad that The Food Stamp Program is NO longer part of The Farm Bill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are talking common sense. I am amazed at some I know who get food stamps, which don’t get them through the month and then they hit up the food pantries to get through.
Most of this program is abuse. I bet it’s well over 50%. In the old days they had to use coupons and could only buy non-prepared food.
Now they give them the equivalent of cash with an EBT card which are being taken for almost anything.
They need to ban the admin from cutting the benefits, force them to reduce the bureaucracy instead. Most of the money is eaten by bureaucracy
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