A Sign Bearer at the May Day Rally in Portland Has an Important Message for President Trump..
Last night during the House Agriculture Committee markup of the partisan reconciliation bill, Congresswoman Chellie PIngree (D-ME) spoke out against Republicans proposal to slash $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In her opening remarks, Congresswoman Pingree questioned how leaving Americans with fewer tools to fund their famililes affordable and healthy diets, further straining our healthcare systems and driving up costs for everyone, will “Make America Healthy Again.”
The average SNAP benefit is $6. a day – $6. a day. That is barely enough to buy a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk. And if this bill passes some of the most vulnerable people in Ameria will be denied even that. Make no mistake, this will lead to more kids going to bed hungry, more seniors skipping meals to afford t heir medicine and more parents fored to sacrifice their own nutrition so their kids can eat.
In my state, 175,000 people rely on SNAP to put food on the table, including over 36,000 chldren and 6,300 veterans. That’s tens of thousands of Mainers who stand to lose their benefits under this proposal. 1 – 5 children in Maine struggle with food insecurity. That’s 1 in 5. And its not just individuals who will suffer. The bill threatens the very businesses that keep our rural communities alive.
More than 1,000 retailers in Maine —— grocery stores, corner markets, and mom and pop shops ——- rely on SNAP sales to stay open. When you cut SNAP, you don’t just take food off the table, you rip the ecoomic rug out from under those businesses in the communities that support………………………..”
Ths bill is not about reducing ‘waste’ or fixing ‘fraud’ or finding errors. It’s all about sacrificing the health and well-being of the most vulnerable amongst us, so that billionaires like Elon Musk can get even richer. It’s about taking food out of the hands of hunrgy childen, cutting off lifelines to families in need and shattering the basic safety net that millions of Americans rely on…………………….”
“Let’s not sugarcoat what this bill is,” Congresswoman Pingree said. “It’s a $300 billion assault on struggling families, seniors, children and veterans, all to fund tax breaks for billionairs and corporations.”
“So for me tonight, I’m a no. Tomorrow I’m a no. Every day from now until whenever my Republican colleagues come to their senses and do what is right for America and for the people who are their constituents, I wll say no on this bill.”
“Why do you suppose the “Collins Press Herald” isn’t carrying this story? Perhaps it supports these cuts to hunger programs so its wealthier subscribers will have more money in their pockets?” suggests this blogger. “You think?”