Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com.
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) (pictured), chair of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations, has announced the House’s filing of an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit filed by 18 states, the District of Columbia, and the City of New York that seeks to reverse the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rule to strip Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP (food stamps) benefits away from able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs).
In March, the House filed a similar amicus brief to temporarily block the same rule.
The Trump administration is tightening work requirements for some food stamp recipients, a move that comes as more than 40 million Americans are unemployed as a result of the pandemic and a measure that impacts benefits for some 688,000 adults.
The new rule makes it more difficult for states to waive a requirement that able-bodied adults without children work at least 20 hours a week or else lose their benefits.
President Trump says able-bodied adults without dependents should be stripped of SNAP benefits even if they cannot find work during a pandemic that, by all accounts, has crippled the nation.
A Warrensville Heights Democrat whose largely Black 11th congressional district includes Cleveland and a trained lawyer, Congresswoman Fudge said that now is not the time for the Trump administration to make it harder for poor people and the hungry to get access to food.
“Despite countless reports showing hunger and unemployment rising together, pointing to a long and tough economic recovery from the pandemic, the Trump administration has decided now is a good time to make it harder for people to buy food if they can’t find a job," said Fudge.
House Democrats, and even some Republicans, oppose the measure.
The congresswoman said that even though the rule has been stayed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia while the lawsuit makes its way through the courts, the Trump administration is hellbent on going forward with stripping these affected SNAP recipients of benefits during a public health crisis.
"As tens of millions of Americans are without work, the administration, with equal parts arrogance and ignorance, continues its ideological crackdown on SNAP recipients,” said Rep. Fudge. “And while House Democrats passed legislation to freeze these callous rules for the duration of the public health emergency—and a U.S. District Court wisely stayed the rule nationwide—the White House is intent on pursuing implementation of this bogus rule. "
Fudge said that Trump's actions on the issue are ludicrous at best.
"It is frankly despicable and something my colleagues and I simply will not tolerate," said Fudge, also a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
