“What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?” (Isaiah 3:15, New International Version Bible)
Congressional Republicans have proposed the first of what promises to be a series of bills to limit access to food assistance for needy families. The first piece of legislation, introduced last week by US Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, proposes work requirements and funding cuts to the already beleaguered Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), measures that will hurt those dependent on the largest food assistance program in the country.
Johnson rationalized the cuts by telling Politico that “work is the only path out of poverty.” This moralizing demonization of needy families is not only tired and offensive, but it overlooks that the majority of food stamp recipients already work hard to care for their families, with many unable to pay their bills despite juggling multiple low-wage jobs.
As they threaten to cut funding for vital public health and anti-poverty programs, politicians, including self-proclaimed Christians who say they value life, are advocating to take food from the mouth of babies. And these latest proposed cuts come on top of the loss of expanded pandemic-era SNAP benefits, which ended this month in 32 states as well as
— source cnn.com | William J. Barber II, Liz Theoharis | Mar 22, 2023