(Republican-Controlled) House Panel Votes $844 Million Cut in Food Stamps
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.
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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.
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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.
...I cannot tell you how angry I become when I read stories like these. I like to believe it is a righteous anger, but perhaps that is merely a prideful conceit. Regardless, at a time when the oil company cronies of the Republican party are making record, windfall profits, the Republican party is cutting food stamp assistance to the most needy segment of our society.
I'd like to know how many of the panel members who voted to cut food stamp assistance consider themselves to be Christians. According to Matthew 25:41-46:
"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
"Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
"Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
D
posted by Dennis | 2:22 PM
2 Comments:
If I get a vote, I vote “righteous anger.”
The other Scripture that came to mind was 2nd Samuel 12:1-5: “And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man' lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.”
I try not to dwell on the acts of so-called “religious conservatives,” although it’s hard sometimes when they make us all look bad.
Agree completely, and just want to add that anyone who does not see this scripture as talking about real judgment is kidding himself. The theocons will have a lot to answer for.
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