skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

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

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Trump Budget Signals Trouble for Hungry Minnesotans

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 14, 2018   

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Trump budget proposal would cut almost $20 billion next year from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), once commonly known as food stamps.

More than 600,000 Minnesotans benefit from SNAP and could be affected, according to Colleen Moriarty, executive director of Hunger Solutions.

"He's willing to back cutting food to the poorest people in our country to come up with enough money to pay for his tax bill, and to pay for additional money that would go to the military," said Moriarty.

The proposal would also cut subsidies to housing and health programs that benefit the poor. President Donald Trump says it will make government more efficient and promote self-sufficiency and hard work.

However, Moriarty worries that the budget proposal lowers the bar for what Congress will find acceptable.

She said the Trump idea for redesigning SNAP will hurt both families who use it and their communities. That's because instead of using their SNAP benefits in local grocery stores, SNAP households will get a box of packaged goods from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"What sense does that make when they can go to their local retailers, when they can frequent the people in their town and spend their SNAP dollars creating economic opportunity at their local level?" she asked. "What sense would it make to deliver them a box of commodities?"

Moriarty said she hopes people will share their thoughts on the budget with their members of Congress, particularly those members of the Minnesota delegation who serve on the Agriculture Committees – Reps. Rick Nolan, Collin Peterson and Timothy Walz in the House, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

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