House vote to cut Food Stamp Aid

Week #3 Article #3
Stoeltja, Melissa Fletcher (2013, September 19) Looming House vote could cut food aid for 3.8 million people. San Antonio Express News
Category of problem: children, health, consumer/financial
Level of problem: National
This article concerns: The looming House can vote to cut food aid for 3.8 million people. This can possibly affect children, families, elderly, and the disabled.
My input: I feel that if any adjustment should be made to the food stamp system, it should be increasing the amount of aid that these families in need receive. It really disappoints me that in the Republican party is pushing so hard to pass bills that will negatively affect the lives of so many Americans. Cutting a whopping $39 billion dollars from the program in a 10 year time period is going to leave so many people who are already struggling to make ends meet at an ever bigger loss. And as usual, some of these House Republicans are arguing that what these families receive now is an inflation of what they really need. This to me is so astonishing to believe that some rich guy in a suit expects some people to make it off of what they even get now. In this article, they talked to a woman who seemed very grateful for the $16 dollars a month she received in aid. $16 a month. There is no possible way that even one person could live off of that much a month. And the point of programs like SNAP are not just to get cheap food with no nutritional value into these peoples mouths, it is to provide healthy nutrition and aid to these people. Last time I checked, a 17 cent package of Ramen Noodles had no nutrition whatsoever. But unfortunately this is what some people are living off of now. Cutting these funds would be a devastating blow to the disabled, elderly, and children. These children alone make up 55% of SNAP recipients. And in the cases of these elders, some are having to make the choice between whether to pay for food, or the cost of their medication. I would much prefer a nutrition assistance reform if the House Republicans believe that too much of this aid money and food are going to waste than to just cut millions of dollars in aid. But in the end, the fate of all of these hungry children and families lies in the hands of the people in Washington.