The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is beginning debate today on a food and farm spending bill which will oversee deep cuts, amounting to roughly $47 billion dollars, to social programs which primarily service low-income women and children and elderly citizens.
Because life is sacred until you emerge from the womb, then you’re on your own.
Essential programs on the chopping block include the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Commodity Supplemental Food programs, which both help low-income people get nutritional food. Hundreds of thousands of people will be cut from the programs if House Republicans get their way. WIC “provides healthy foods like milk, eggs and infant formula to about 9 million poor mothers and pregnant women and their children,” and would absorb a $868 million cut under the GOP bill, which falls $1.3 billion short of what’s needed to adequately fund the program with food prices on the rise.
The GOP measure also calls for cuts to food safety programs, a childhood obesity initiative backed by First Lady Michele Obama, and food aid for senior citizens.
The spending bill also cuts programs that deliver food to low-income senior citizens by 23 percent, so they’re not only coming for your Medicare, Seniors, they’re coming for your milk and bread too.
Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee will be voting on a $649 billion defense-spending bill that boosts the Pentagon’s operating budget by $17 billion. Because Republicans really care about spending.
Isn’t it ironic that the Republicans are approving any spending bill, particularly one which increase spending in the case of the Pentagon, while also refusing to raise the debt ceiling? Every single one of these bills, even the ones which cut spending for poor children, will require the debt ceiling to be raised in several months.
Obviously the solution to this conundrum is more tax cuts.
