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| Homeless families like this one will feel the brunt of budget cuts. (photo: Mary Ellen Mark/Time-Life) |
21 July 12
One in seven Americans relies on food stamps, yet lawmakers are plotting to balance the budget on the backs of the neediest.
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test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of
those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have
too little.
So said President Franklin D Roosevelt, over 75 years ago, in his second inaugural address.
This idea could not be any more important than now, when the health of
millions of children, their families and older adults are in danger.
Last Wednesday, the agriculture committee of the House
of Representatives voted to pass dramatic cuts to the Farm Bill. If
passed by Congress, the legislation will remove $16.5bn from food and
hunger relief programs that directly benefit children, seniors and
families.
Approximately 80% of the Farm Bill budget funds the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) - commonly known as
food stamps. As 45 million people - one in seven Americans - currently
rely on Snap to help feed and nourish themselves and their families, the
program provides the first line of defense in our country's hunger
relief network.
The proposed cuts will affect between 2 and 3 million
Americans, and more than 300,000 people in Texas, where I work. These
people are our neighbors, classmates, co-workers, relatives and friends.
Make no mistake, these cuts will hurt many families already straining
to pay their summer electric bills, rent and gas, making it harder to
put food on their tables.
As almost three in five Snap recipients are children
or seniors, the advancement of this legislation is especially troubling
as the majority of those who stand to lose Snap benefits are the most
vulnerable in our society. The impact will ripple across our country
starting in our retirement communities and schools. READ MORE
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