Heating or Eating: Choose One

The GOP has just set a new world record for “Insidious.” The Republicans have cut food stamps for the poor – only in Democratic states.

Here is how they did it. Food stamps, a/k/a the Food Supplement Program, is limited to the needy. Neediness is calculated based on family income. Income is calculated after subtracting deductions. One of those deductions is the “Full Standard Utility Allowance,” or FSUA, which is $644. Families who receive Low-Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP) payments are automatically eligible to take the FSUA deduction. That reduces their income, and makes them more likely to qualify for food stamps.

In the farm bill that just passed the House (I voted against it), the sole GOP food stamp cut was a change in the qualification rules to prevent LIHEAP recipients from automatically qualifying for the FSUA deduction. This is a $9 billion cut.

What do Vermont, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Illinois and Maine have in common? They’re cold, and they’re Democratic. What do Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi have in common? They’re warm, and they’re Republican.

Are you starting to get the picture?

In fact, Democracy for America has calculated that 97% of this cut in food stamps falls on blue D.C. and 15 blue states: the New England states, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Michigan, Wisconsin, Montana, Washington, Oregon and California. All of them but Montana voted for President Obama twice. Twenty-eight of their 32 Senators are Democrats.

So basically, the GOP Farm Bill cuts food stamps for lots of Democrats, and only some Republicans. And those impoverished Democrats now have to choose between heating and eating.

First the GOP allegedly shuts down access to the busiest bridge in America, to punish a Democratic mayor who wouldn't endorse a Republican governor. Now they cut food stamps, but just in Democratic states.

What’s next? Will the GOP cut Social Security benefits for seniors who are Democrats? Will the GOP slash health coverage for veterans who are Democrats? Will they cut taxes only in the “red states”?

It’s official: The Party of Bellyaching is now the Party of Bullying.

Please sign our petition urging the Senate to reject the Farm Bill. And ask your friends to sign, too. Forward this to them.

And in November, the party that makes you choose between heating and eating is going to take a beating.

Courage,

Rep. Alan Grayson