WASHINGTON – Congressman Tom Latham today responded to a White House threat to veto the pending farm bill.
Here are Latham’s remarks:
Some would have you believe that the U.S. House Farm Bill ‘cuts’ food stamps and puts scores of beneficiaries at risk. This is just a shameless and misleading ploy to alarm vulnerable Americans. Our legislation simply removes loopholes to ensure that SNAP benefits are going to those who qualify. We’re talking about making sure that individuals meet income tests to qualify for the program; making sure that someone who receives as little as $1 of heating assistance isn’t automatically enrolled for full food stamp assistance; making sure that ineligible groups as disparate as lottery winners and the deceased aren’t receiving benefits.
It’s no wonder that we’re $17 trillion in debt when certain groups make so much political hay out of achieving commonsense reforms and eliminating unintended waste in the federal government.