House Republicans readying to propose $40 billion in food stamp cuts

Hotair ^ | 08/01/2013 | Erika Johnsen

[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!”

[Mr. K]

Those evil republicans want to starve people!

(just wanted to beat the crowd)

[Uncle Chip]

Oh my — that will take a lot of Bahama vacations out of a lot of food stamp recipient’s budgets.

[Catsrus]

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?

[SeekAndFind]

Bahama vacations? WOW !

Where are you getting this piece of new from?

[autumnraine]

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)

[SeekAndFind]

RE: How stupid can they get to dig their political graves?

Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

[sarasota]

I see more and more people using food stamps at grocery check out.

[dforest]

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

[ZX12R]

Forcing the elderly to eat dog food again. /s

[autumnraine]

Exactly!

There are a lot of people on stamps that never imagined they would be. That doesn’t mean they won’t be irritated.

[JustTheTruth]

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.

[SeekAndFind]

Here's a sample of the FRAUD going on just in one state:

[SENTINEL]

I'll bet arresting and deporting illegals would free up much more than this in food stamps alone. Two birds with one stone and KEEP both parts of their base.

Stupid republicans, STUPID STUPID STUPID !!

[SeekAndFind]

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.

[Jane Long]

I'd love for "stickie campaign" to start at EBT swipe machines...

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.

[Bulwinkle]

It use to be only citizens could get food stamps; not those here on visas not illegals. Hopefully that is part of the proposals.

[Amendment10]

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.

[Catsrus]

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.

[yoe]

The fraud & waste i.e.,PORK in the "Farm Bill" and in the food stamp program should be shown ad nauseam prior to doing anything via ads...people need to see and to understand for themselves why cut this needs to be done. It will be interesting to see who in our government fights this sort of honesty.