President Donald Trump’s administration’s planned cuts to food assistance benefits would throw millions of people off the program.
The Department of Agriculture announced on Tuesday that it would be closing a “loophole” in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program that allows recipients to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
According to CNN, the move could end up kicking more than 3 million people off the program.
The administration claims the loophole allows people to get assistance “when they clearly don’t need it.”
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in a statement that states have “misused this flexibility without restraint.”
“The American people expect their government to be fair, efficient, and to have integrity – just as they do in their own homes, businesses, and communities,” Perdue said. “That is why we are changing the rules, preventing abuse of a critical safety net system, so those who need food assistance the most are the only ones who receive it.”
The administration claims the proposal will move participants “towards self-sufficiency,” a common refrain among Republicans when citing reasons for slashing security net benefits.
Just another day.
When will the government help mega corporations move to self sufficiency?
We once had legislators of both parties who thought ameliorating hunger.was in the national interest.
Secretary Perdue who looks like an understudy from Deliverance really ought to read the farm bill. https://www.fas.usda.gov/programs/mcgovern-dole-food-education-program “The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program helps support education, child development and food security in low-income, food-deficit countries around the globe. The program provides for the donation of U.S. agricultural commodities, as well as financial and technical assistance, to support school feeding and maternal and child nutrition projects.”