US House passes bill cutting food stamps

The US House narrowly voted to stop food-stamp benefits next year for an estimated 3.8 million Americans, despite a veto threat and lobbying by groups that feed the poor.

œMost people don™t choose to be on food stamps; most people want to go out and get a job,” Majority Leader Eric Cantor said before the 217-210 vote. œThe reforms made by this bill will put people on the path to self-sufficiency and independence.”

The vote — for which 15 Republicans joined 195 Democrats to oppose the bill — comes a day after the release of new Census Bureau data showing 46.5 million people, or 15 percent of the population, living in poverty — close to a two-decade high.

The legislation would save $39 billion over 10 years. Advocates have been lobbying Capitol Hill, bringing in soup-kitchen leaders and a celebrity, Tom Colicchio from television™s œTop Chef,” to press lawmakers to vote against the cuts.

Lawmakers next must figure out how to merge this bill with one the Senate passed earlier this year that would reduce food-stamp spending by about $4 billion over 10 years.

œToday™s vote is not only a waste of our time, but an insult to every American in need,” Ohio Democrat Marcia Fudge said on the House floor.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the legislation amounted to œsnatching food out of the hands” of the poor. The Nevada Democrat said the House would do better to vote on a Senate-passed bill, which he described as saving $23 billion over a decade œwithout forcing needy children to skip meals.”

The US Department of Agriculture estimates that 47.7 million people received benefits under the largest food-aid program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in June 2013. That compares with 41.2 million people who received the benefits in June 2009.

Under the bill, about 3.8 million people would lose eligibility for food stamps in fiscal 2014, which starts in Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, 2014, according to a cost estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Those cuts would come through reducing work requirement and time-limit waivers for childless adults, as well as restricting food-stamp eligibility gained from enrollment in other social welfare programs. Enrollment cuts would taper off after fiscal 2014, CBO said, averaging 2.8 million a year. Businessweek.com

AGB/AGB

Copyright: Press TV