Amid a flurry of reports that five years after the financial collapse US poverty rates and wealth inequalities remain dismal, the GOP is pushing to cut $40 billion from food aid programs that help society’s most vulnerable.
House Republicans, led by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, are proposing a 5.2 percent reduction in the budget for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program that provides food stamps and other vital aid. They are also calling for more stringent eligibility requirements that would cut off an estimated 10 percent of recipients from benefits.
Debate over the future of food stamps has come to dominate the looming vote over the new farm bill, where severe cuts are being proposed by the House GOP. While proposed cuts have narrow chances of passing, they are likely to influence the debate on food aid programs and could lead to House-Senate negotiations on the farm bill, Reuters reports.
Republican leaders appear unswayed in their efforts to axe food aid programs despite new alarming reports that five years after financial collapse, poverty is stuck at high levels.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT