September 13, 2013
By Congressman Paul Tonko
The Farm Bill is set to expire at the end of September. That means, if Congress doesn’t act now, the law reverts back to what it used to be in the 1930's and 1940's! And, even more problematic, are the 3-4 million Americans who will be forced off of nutritional supplement programs like SNAP – most of them children and seniors – who rely on this for their basic dietary needs.
We need to make sure we are taking care of our most vulnerable citizens, many of whom are children whose parents are out of work through no fault of their own or seniors with limited means.
Last Sunday, the New York Times Editorial Board wrote that House Republicans, while under the guise of saving the government money, turn a blind eye when their members receive millions of dollars in subsidies for their own farms. They are mindlessly gutting vital benefits for the struggling while rewarding themselves.
This type of behavior is outrageous and it isn’t right. Stand with me and tell the Republicans to protect our most vulnerable citizens.
