House GOP considers food stamp work requirements

[The Straight Story]

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 47 million Americans received food stamps last year, but only a relative few are required to work or look for a job as a condition of receiving the aid.

Now, House Republicans are considering whether the work requirement should be strengthened as they seek cuts to the $80 billion-a-year program, which has doubled in cost over the last five years.

A small group of GOP lawmakers is expected to meet Wednesday to discuss trimming the program, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. It is unclear whether they will be able to agree on an approach before Congress leaves town for its August recess.


http://bigstory.ap.org/article/house-gop-considers-food-stamp-work-requirements

[polichick]

1. It's about time the House has some work requirements!

[Stargazer99]

2. sending 50 people after one job does not make sense

but Republicans don't have working knowledge of the real world
Just how stupid can they get?

[MotherPetrie]

3. The GOP never stops trying to kick people when they're down.

[warrant46]

26. Just look around at the working poor not on food aid

my relatives (some of them) believe the needy are lazy, and should starve because the relatives who work, have to support the recipients who "lay around"

Needless to say most of these working people for one reason or another ( catholic abortion dogma and gay hatred) are repukes (poor repukes)

[Arkansas Granny]

4. Are they not aware that many of the recipients already work, but their jobs are so low paying

that they can't afford to buy food? That's what happens when the minimum wage is not a living wage.

[Wounded Bear]

8. Kindly don't confuse the issue with facts, sir..

It confuses the rubes.



(I hope you know I'm J/K

[Arkansas Granny]

13. I hope you know that with a name like "Granny" . .

I'm not a sir.

[Wounded Bear]

14. Oops....

[hollysmom]

18. don't forget the military.

[jwirr]

20. And the disabled and elderly.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Maybe because about 50% of those people already have jobs that can't provide!

[EC]

11. I'll bet it's closer to 80% - 85% n/t

[B Calm]

25. I was thinking the same as you. . .

[dionysus]

6. ok, fine.. give them work to do, and double the amount of assistance at the same time.

have the people do public works projects or something, and also they will be able to actually afford decent food.

or better yet... pass some jobs bills so they don't need food stamps you idiots!

[Wounded Bear]

10. Hey, they passed 30 some jobs bills from 2010-12...

Of course all of them started out with tax breaks for millionaires and.....well...I think most of them stopped there, too.

[arely staircase]

17. this^^^

hell yes, require them to work and give them a job and enough money to live on. most of them actually already have crappy jobs.

[hobbit709]

7. My friends on disability will be real pleased to hear that-NOT!

[WovenGems]

9. Hmmmm...

Republicans hate job bills but are going to require work to get food stamps.

[Thinkingabout]

12. This is an interesting change by the GOP, we have been begging for jobs for years and it has not

happened and now they want to but a jobs requirement on getting food stamps. WTH is an 80 year old going to do in getting a job, don't laugh, I see lots of them out working also. Oh, just leave everything to the GOP, they can ruin any and everything.

[Wounded Bear]

16. Not really a change...

It just an extension of their 'blame the victim' mentality.

The tone of this is obvious: It's your fault you don't have a good paying job, go find one. There's no admission that their policies have destroyed millions of those good paying jobs, they just want employers to have more competition on the job market and drive wages even lower. They did this with welfare. Lather, rinse, repeat.

[Autumn]

15. Are those fuckers the least bit curious as to why the food stamp

program has doubled in cost over the last five years? Of course not. They need only look at themselves and a group of bipartisan Democrats.

[spanone]

19. house republicans on the government teat want to block others from the same advantage

[questionseverything]

21. for one thing

we should be expanding food stamps,not cutting them because for every dollar the gov't spends on fs the gdp is increased by $1.79...that is a great return on investment to the economy

the second thing is a work requirement will get enforced using no common sense and further create an underclass of workers

in illinois there is a work requirement for cash benefit....for a $307 per month check they have to work 30 hrs per week or 120 hours a month....do the math,it is less than 3 bucks an hour

[angstlessk]

22. Guess this is why they want children to work?

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday that in looking at deeper work requirements, Republicans are ignoring who actually gets food stamps. He said 92 percent of recipients are children, the elderly, disabled or people who are already working.

OR would you work JUST to receive food stamps..sort of like prison labor? Taking jobs away from people who earn cash to work?

[kestrel91316]

23. Are they going to do this to the people who ALREADY have jobs that pay them so little

they can't afford to eat??

[Wounded Bear]

24. Of couse they are....

after all, it's their fault, right?