In the News

 

 

By Jim Myers

 

Washington — The U.S. House narrowly approved a contentious bill Thursday to cut the nation's food stamp program by roughly $39 billion over 10 years.

 

Wisconsin Democrats warned that thousands of the state's poorest would be kicked off its rolls; state Republicans embraced it as a path to much-needed reforms.

 

Approved by a vote of 217-210, the House bill is expected to revive a beleaguered effort to pass a multiyear farm bill even as key Democrats pledged it would not survive a conference with the Senate.

 

Wisconsin's delegation split along party lines with Republican Reps. Paul Ryan, Tom Petri, James Sensenbrenner, Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble voting yes, and Democratic Reps. Gwen Moore, Mark Pocan and Ron Kind voting no.

 

Ryan dismissed concerns by some that the bill's cuts and changes went too far.

 

"Anybody who needs food stamps will get food stamps," he said, adding the program not only grew quickly but went beyond its original purpose to allow those who should not qualify to become eligible.

 

Ryan singled out for criticism the waivers some states have received that boosted their rolls. "It is harmful to upward social mobility to waive work requirements," he said.

 

Ryan said the integrity of such safety-net programs should be maintained so they will be available to those who really need the temporary assistance.

 

Asked about concerns that the cuts proposed in the House bill — roughly 10 times what has been approved in the Senate — are too much to ask, he compared the effort on food stamps to the one that led to welfare reform in the 1990s under then-President Bill Clinton and a Republican-controlled Congress. That effort, Ryan recalled, required multiple votes.

 

Still, he conceded the effort on food stamps, now known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, faces an uphill fight.

 

"At the end of the day, we can make the moral case for welfare reform just like we did in the late 1990s," Ryan said.

 

Concerning the size of the cuts, Petri said they may look large to some, but not when compared with the amount being spent on the program. He said the cuts also may not be as big after the waivers on work requirements expire.

 

Kevin Moore, deputy secretary for Wisconsin's Department of Health Services, said the legislation aligns closely with Gov. Scott Walker's commitment to reduce waste, fraud and abuse as well as ensure that the state's safety net program remains in place for the most vulnerable citizens.

 

He noted that the state is already moving forward with implementing one provision included in the House bill. Walker invested nearly $17 million in state funds for worker training for able-bodied adults without dependent children who receive FoodShare Benefits. The state has informed the federal government it intends to enforce the work-training requirements beginning next year.

 

In contrast, Gwen Moore described the bill's proposed cuts as harmful and the vote to approve it as shameful.

 

"Once again, instead of working to help struggling Americans, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle chose to cater to the minority within their party," she said. "Over 47 million people rely on this vital lifeline each year. The Republican bill could cut approximately 4 million from nutritional assistance."

 

In Wisconsin, Gwen Moore said, that figure could be more than 150,000, including 4,000 children.

 

Pocan called the bill extreme, adding it would force more Wisconsinites into hunger while putting less money into the state economy.

 

Kind described the bill as dangerous and said Congress should find a better way to pass a farm bill. "That's why I'm continuing to lead the fight to rein in wasteful subsidies that favor big agribusiness over family farmers," he said.

 

It remained unclear how conferees will be able to bridge the funding gap in food stamps between the House and Senate bills.

 

Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, all but guaranteed conferees will produce a final product, but Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), the panel's ranking member, expressed serious doubts, especially given tight deadlines and the other issues facing Congress.