skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Groups Oppose Cuts to SNAP Benefits

play audio
Play

Monday, October 9, 2017   

DENVER – Groups that advocate for children, the elderly and people with disabilities are rolling up their sleeves in the wake of the budget passed last week in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The measure includes $150 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, over the next decade.

Joël McClurg, director of public policy with Hunger Free Colorado, says slashing social programs to make room for tax breaks for corporations and wealthy Americans would directly impact Colorado's most vulnerable residents.

"Any cuts to this program means that ultimately what you're going to have to do is make a decision about which children, or which elderly, or which disabled Americans are still eligible for benefits and which of those populations – which comprise the vast majority of the food stamp program – will no longer be eligible for benefits," he states.

A recent analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy of the GOP's proposal found 60 percent of the tax cuts would go to Coloradans making more than $500,000 a year, and people who make $1 million a year would see a boost in their after-tax income of $170,000 on average.

Proponents of cutting SNAP benefits maintain vulnerable populations still will receive benefits, and argue the goal is to encourage more people to join the workforce.

McClurg points out jobs that pay a living wage are especially hard to find in rural parts of the country still recovering from the Great Recession.

He adds over half of families that get food stamps are working, and the majority of recipients, including children, seniors and people with disabilities, are not expected to work.

"It's really important to reach out to your members of Congress and to let them know how you're feeling about these nutrition assistance programs,” McClurg stresses. “Because in Colorado, in 2016, 235,000 food stamp recipients were children who need that assistance to really build that strong foundation."

The Republican budget also calls for $10 billion in Farm Bill cuts, which McClurg notes would disproportionately affect food stamps.

Colorado's delegation voted along party lines, with the exception of Republican Ken Buck, who joined Democratic Reps. Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis in voting against the proposal.







get more stories like this via email

more stories
Corporate partners sign contracts to offer a graduate assistantship and pay the students. In turn, MSU pays the graduate assistant's tuition, fees and salary, so the assistantship is directly tied to the academic experience. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Missouri News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Col…


Social Issues

play sound

A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point…

Environment

play sound

Backers of a new federal rule said it will increase fairness for livestock and poultry producers, in North Carolina and across the country. The U.S…


A study by the advocacy group Inseparable showed one in five adults said at any given time, they consider their mental health to be either 'fair' or 'poor.' (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Mental health care advocates are encouraging federal agencies to adopt a proposed update to regulations which would expand access to psychological car…

Social Issues

play sound

With hotter summers bringing hotter working conditions, the Maryland Department of Labor is implementing a heat stress standard to protect workers …

Social Issues

play sound

By Jimmy Cloutier for OpenSecrets.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboratio…

Environment

play sound

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021