The Hill News

Two weeks ago, the House Republican Majority passed a budget â€" embraced by their likely presidential nominee, Mitt Romney â€" that, among other things, slashes deeply into the social safety net and ends the Food Stamp program as we know it. Their budget cuts food stamp funding by at least $133.5 billion, or 17 percent, over ten years, meaning over 8 million men, women, and children could be cut from the program. It also attempts to convert our most important and successful federal anti-hunger program into a woefully inadequate block grant that would be incapable of responding to downturns in the economy or the needs of American families.
 
This is not the direction we should be moving in. In the words of President Harry Truman, "nothing is more important in our national life than the welfare of our children, and proper nourishment comes first in attaining this welfare." And in this economy, child poverty, child hunger, and food insecurity have all been on t! he rise, and middle-class and working families are working harder than ever to make ends meet. In 2010, nearly 15 percent of American households were food insecure. This means nearly 50 million Americans, including over 16 million children, face the real risk everyday of going hungry.  

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