“We can’t keep balancing our budgets on the backs of poor. It is time to say enough is enough, no more cuts to SNAP. We should protect the vulnerable and the least well off in this country instead of punishing them simply for being poor”, said Rep. McGovern. Picture credit: PolicyMic
On April 3, 2014 Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives for one minute regarding food stamp cuts to the poor:
“Madam Speaker, over the past 6 months, this Nation’s premier antihunger safety net program, SNAP, has been cut by nearly $20 billion. Forty-six million Americans saw a cut of about $30 a month for a family of three, and hundreds of thousands more will see a cut of about $90 because of two separate cuts that took effect in November and in February.
But those pale in comparison to the Ryan budget. This budget, which will be voted on by this House next week, cuts at least $137 billion from SNAP–$137 billion. That is simply devastating.
Budgets are moral documents, and the Ryan budget is immoral. What kind of nation are we if all we do is continue to take food from the mouths of the hungry?
We can’t keep balancing our budgets on the backs of poor. It is time to say enough is enough, no more cuts to SNAP. We should protect the vulnerable and the least well off in this country instead of punishing them simply for being poor” (Source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov/).