WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steve King, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, and Nutrition, held a public hearing to examine the role of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in relation to other federal assistance programs. SNAP is designed primarily to increase the food purchasing power of eligible low-income households to help them buy a nutritional, low-cost diet. SNAP benefits are fully financed by the federal government; administrative costs are shared between state governments and the federal government.
In recent years, the cost of the program has increased from $37.6 billion in 2008 to nearly $80 billion in 2013. Likewise, participation in the program has grown from 28.2 million participants in 2008 to 47.6 million in 2013. Subcommittee Members used the hearing to learn more about the program, including how it addresses hunger, how it is linked to other federal programs, and how opportunities or barriers impact the ability of low-income families to secure employment and job training to lift themselves out of poverty and off of SNAP.
“No matter what side of the aisle you sit on, we can all agree on the importance of SNAP in helping those in need. However, with soaring deficits and an out-of-control national debt, we must be mindful of this grave fiscal situation. We, as Members of Congress, have a responsibility to the American people to oversee federal programs paid for by the taxpayer to ensure that they are operating in the most efficient, cost-effective manner,” said Chairman Steve King.
I hope Steve King never becomes elected for anything ever again. I am not for or against Obama. Yet, if Obama said we should eat more tacos on Tuesday Steve King would find a way to blame Obama for it ^ vote against it to cover for his racist hatred toward our President. Fact: Steve King voted against Emergency Unemployment & thus these people who were searching for jobs trying to stay honest were forced to go on Title 19, Food Stamps. Write to King & all you will receive is a form…
The more you dopers rant the more I realize the movie idioracy may some day become a documentary so from now on I will refer to you fools as Frito and your worthless leader as beef supreme. Smoke on fools I love the entertainment.
I hate to shatter your imaginary world (because I believe in protecting the imagination of human beings), but I DON’T USE DRUGS. I favor the decriminalization of drugs because I don’t think governments should be telling people what they can put into their own bodies, however, with that I believe in stepped up liability protections and consequences for those who cause harm to society because of their drug use (if they do). Understood? Great. Let Liberty keep marching on. 🙂
And right now, more harm is befalling society by men and women with altered tailpipe exhausts, aggressively riding down the streets, than from people smoking a marijuana cigarette in their homes, playing X-Box or watching a movie. That’s the reality of it. Sorry you’re not sensitive as to what qualifies as “true harm” versus propagandized harm.
Many of you were brainwashed. At this point we are trying to re-educate you, while mitigating your aggressive misguided energies. 8)
And I need to take a moment to explain myself to both law enforcement and those who use or market illegal drugs or marijuana. My position is not what either of you may think it is. I’m just as against an ignorant, violent trailer trash human from ingesting drugs as law enforcement may purport to be. I’m not on the drug users side, and I’m not on law enforcement’s side. Ultimately I’m against ALL uses of substances (including alcohol and tobacco), but I believe in education not prison.
And from time to time, if a human wants to explore their conscious in its relation to “reality”, I believe they have the right to do this. Also, I believe that like coffee, humans should be able to use coca leaves, for a stimulant, and any natural plant or fungus in its natural form. Humans also ultimately have the right to alter their bodies with piercings, tattoos, implants, or to even amputate appendages if they wanted to. Same goes for ingesting substances…bleach, ammonia, etc.
The government should not own rights over your body, and the drug argument is placed in this category. Abortion differs, because the State has a right to protect the rights of a future citizen. Mothers do not “own” their children in this regard because we all come through the same vessel to arrive in this world. One birth is not unique over another…so in this way mothers lose their claims over their unborn children’s lives. LIABILITY to society is the only concern we need have.
Liability is hampered at present because of the faulty design of society. My job is to mitigate this liability, by demonstrating passive solar, geothermal, wind energy, self contained greenhouse, thermal mass, with appropriate food growing and water recycling technologies. Humans will be less dependent on external sources,therefore more free to live the lifestyle of their choosing…ie using substances if they so do choose. Showing up to “work” for others will be less important.
I’ve also heard recently about the proposed 3 day work week. Ultimately I believe a person should work only when they are properly rested and feel like doing so (no timetables); this also includes when they attend school. I don’t believe in forcing humans to a moneymaking schedule versus a natural bio-rhythmic one. The Atmosphere at different times possesses different ions which alter how we feel. Some days are uber productive, and others slower. More family time, less “boss” time. 😕
OK let me ask you this, are you crazy? You legalize all drugs and you will have hundreds of thousands of zombies roaming around stealing anything that isn’t nailed down just to get their next fix. Then if you only worked when you wanted to and you happen to work at a factory like Winnebago where it takes a whole line of people to do anything, then you would be sitting there picking your nose. Being lazy isn’t the way to go.
Times are different. We live in a post-industrial, techno community. Humans are more sensitive and aware than in previous generations. Quality of life is high (with the exception of loud tailpipe ruckus). We have a lot of information at our disposal. Re-configuring and re-designing communities to embrace a higher/smarter life, rather than clinging to the abuses and ignorance of the past is what I’m doing. Not sure why you think that’s a bad thing. There’s a lot of waste to deal with.
I am not saying it’s a bad thing, I am saying that it is not practable, maybe in your mind it is but not in reality.
Stealing money from your check? Bull-kaka. Your very presence on this land is that of a guest. Your guest status is no better nor worse than mine…actually worse, because your mind is malfunctioning. I have no idea what master you serve, but whoever your rich master is, he doesn’t trump my rights to land and raising my own food. You don’t get it yet, but you will. Up is down and down is up. Your world doesn’t exist anymore. You just don’t know it yet.
Long ago with the help of violent men, land was seized and appropriated to other violent and greedy men. Good and trusting people accepted their peasant status, filling the church pews to hear the virtue of their complicity and obedience. The greedy kept moving ahead, and the peasants kept settling for the next world. The master you serve is part of the lineage of those who stole, conned, and killed. I’m returning people to their rightful status, as landowners, not controlled peasants.
ADHD flaring up again?
Well said….I tip my hat to you.
All of you people miss the boat on this issue. It’s not about handouts, it’s about teaching the population to grow and can preserve food, while giving them the land to do it, and the know how. This requires a cultural shift away from television / internet and a 3 day workweek. Wake up so-called “agrarian Iowans”. Stop being so damn naive’. It’s not a partisan issue.
In a round about way peter you are talking about the bible, “give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime”.
@Maybe-Peter doesn’t believe in the bible unless it is something that he can get for free.
I know he says he doesn’t but some of his ideas come from the bible.
I’ve already told you both that I like Jesus, but I won’t use that as an excuse to worship him, or get lazy hanging out in a church listening to a soothsayer.
WW2 brought the industrialization of our food supply, and the decline of nutritional quality and access and knowledge of procurement techniques. Peaking during the eighties, Americans were as dumb and far removed that many children thought food came from a can or box and didn’t know what a cow or pig was, or vegetable or grain. It’s time to reverse the stupidity, and you know it.
I don’t think that’s from the bible, it’s from a spanish philosopher, Maimonides.
Interesting. I see he also penned “It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death.” I never heard that name Maimonides before. I learned something new. Cool.
I didn’t say that the last idea of his was from the bible, I said some of his ideas are from the bible.
These give away programs have become a generational excuse for too many that want to take advantage of our wasteful government or in too many cases are just to lazy to work. Nothing will ever be done about it because both sides know give aways equal votes and in all cases the working and the retired working get screwed.
Come on King, if you want to save some money on the SNAP program, you need to investigate the ones that are getting it. You and I both know that there are people getting it that do not need/deserve it. Some of the people on SNAP eat way better then I do, and I’ve worked for over 40 years. The same can be said about anybody on government welfare, there’s way to many people out there that are taking advantage of government welfare, on the backs of legal, working, tax paying citizens.
I agree, Allen. The oil industry, Wall Street and farmers are getting way too much government welfare on the backs of tax paying citizens.