Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Food Stamps To Be Sold Off?
It doesn’t matter how much trouble the Repugnicans are in, they’re going to go right ahead screwing everybody they can.
This is part of the dismantling of the remains of the New Deal—the first legislation in America to help those who need it. The Repugnicans hate the New Deal; they hate everybody who isn’t rich and white, whether or not they’ll cop to that. The less money for the poor, the more for them. Besides, God wants the poor to be poor, right?
Lawmakers vote to allow privatizing US food stamps
By Charles Abbott 2 hours, 31 minutes ago
House and Senate negotiators working on a $100 billion agriculture spending bill voted on Tuesday to allow states to privatize the food stamp program, which helps 25 million people put food on the table monthly.
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The so-called conference committee has the chore of writing a final, compromise version of bills passed by the House and Senate to fund the Agriculture Department and related agencies this fiscal year. The compromise bill then will be presented to each chamber for passage with no amendments allowed.
Although Senate negotiators voted 9-8 to erect barriers to letting private firms take over food-stamp office work, the House side rejected the idea, 9-6. Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, said the vote effectively killed his idea of preventing privatization without proof the change would work.
Texas has requested permission to privatize food stamps as part of an overhaul of its welfare programs. Antihunger activists say Texas wants to close dozens of local offices and do more of the work by telephone, aided by thousands of hours of donated labor from charities and other volunteer groups.
"How many poor people are going to go on the Internet to apply for food stamps?" asked Harkin in arguing that relying on call centers or electronic applications would discourage participation.
Rep. Jack Kingston, Georgia Republican, said the government should encourage experiments that could streamline service and save money.
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Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
This is part of the dismantling of the remains of the New Deal—the first legislation in America to help those who need it. The Repugnicans hate the New Deal; they hate everybody who isn’t rich and white, whether or not they’ll cop to that. The less money for the poor, the more for them. Besides, God wants the poor to be poor, right?
Lawmakers vote to allow privatizing US food stamps
By Charles Abbott 2 hours, 31 minutes ago
House and Senate negotiators working on a $100 billion agriculture spending bill voted on Tuesday to allow states to privatize the food stamp program, which helps 25 million people put food on the table monthly.
***
The so-called conference committee has the chore of writing a final, compromise version of bills passed by the House and Senate to fund the Agriculture Department and related agencies this fiscal year. The compromise bill then will be presented to each chamber for passage with no amendments allowed.
Although Senate negotiators voted 9-8 to erect barriers to letting private firms take over food-stamp office work, the House side rejected the idea, 9-6. Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, said the vote effectively killed his idea of preventing privatization without proof the change would work.
Texas has requested permission to privatize food stamps as part of an overhaul of its welfare programs. Antihunger activists say Texas wants to close dozens of local offices and do more of the work by telephone, aided by thousands of hours of donated labor from charities and other volunteer groups.
"How many poor people are going to go on the Internet to apply for food stamps?" asked Harkin in arguing that relying on call centers or electronic applications would discourage participation.
Rep. Jack Kingston, Georgia Republican, said the government should encourage experiments that could streamline service and save money.
***
Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
