Trump as the Rat King from The Nutcracker by Illustrator Jon Luoma, Formerly of the MAINE TIMES.  Can be Viewed at the Gulf of Maine Book Store, Maine Street, Brunswick.

Early last month the Trump administration announced that it will remove 700,000 from the federal food-stamp program – ignoring the many letters of protest from the public according to a front page article in the December 5 issue of THE NEW  YORK TIMES.

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) immediately objected to the policy of the Trump administration upon its announcement. The policy change requires strict work requirements for able bodied recipients.  However, Pingree pointed out that in northern most Aroostook County, jobs are far and few between, – a severe disadvantage for which the food stamp recipients are not responsible.

Fourteen states sued the Trump administration yesterday to block “new rules that would tighten work requirements for food stamp recipients” according to a second article in The New York Times today,  January 17, 2019.  Maine is not one of the states listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The new Rule is expected to take effect in April 2019.