Fwd: House panel votes $844 mln cut in food stamps

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( http://news./s/nm/20051028/pl_nm/food_congress_cuts_dc )

 

 

House panel votes $844 mln cut in food stamps

By Charles Abbott 2 hours, 8 minutes ago

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On a party-line vote, a Republican-run U.S. House of

Representatives committee voted to cut food stamps by $844 million on Friday,

just hours after a new U.S. Agriculture Department report showed more Americans

are struggling to put food on the table.

 

About 300,000 Americans would lose benefits due to tighter eligibility rules for

food stamps, the major U.S. antihunger program, under the House plan. The cuts

would be part of $3.7 billion pared from Agriculture Department programs over

five years as part of government-wide spending reductions.

 

Agriculture Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte defended the decision, saying only

a sliver of food stamp spending was affected and, for the most part, the cuts

would eliminate people not truly eligible.

 

" This is not a giveaway program that results in windfall profits, " said North

Carolina Republican G.K. Butterfield in opposing the cuts. " That is not moral.

That is not American. "

 

Approved 25-20, the committee package now will become part of an omnibus

budget-cutting bill.

 

The House plan would also cut U.S. crop supports by $1 billion, land stewardship

by $760 million, research by $620 million and rural development by $446 million.

 

The Senate's budget reduction plan would not touch food stamps, but would cut $3

billion from other USDA programs.

 

On food stamps, the House committee agreed to require immigrants to wait seven

years, instead of the current five, to apply for aid. That would affect an

estimated 70,000 people.

 

It also would deny food stamps to people who automatically get food stamps

because they receive help through other welfare programs but whose income is

above food stamp levels. About 225,000 people fall in that category.

 

North Dakota Democrat Earl Pomeroy complained that 40,000 children would lose

free meals at school because of that provision.

 

" You have not even come clean that kids are going to lose school breakfast and

school lunch under this, " he said.

 

Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, said states unfairly " have taken the

opportunity to expand food stamp eligibility " beyond what the federal government

intended. Democrat John Barrow of Georgia said Goodlatte was punishing states

for using welfare reform laws to respond to local needs.

 

A new USDA report concluded that some 38.2 million Americans " were food

insecure " in 2004, an increase of nearly 2 million from the previous year.

 

" These households, at some time during the year, had difficulty providing food

for all their members due to a lack of resources, " the USDA said.

 

Food stamps help poor Americans buy food. About 25 million people get food

stamps monthly.

 

The USDA had an overall budget of about $85 billion in fiscal 2005. Food stamps

and other nutrition programs for the poor accounted for about $51 billion, with

the remainder going to crop subsidies for farmers, food aid to foreign

countries, farmland conservation, meat plant inspections and other farm-related

programs.

 

" When the power of love becomes stronger than the love of power, we will have

peace. "

Jimi Hendrix