Our Representative in Congress has gone out of his way to try to convince us that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, referred to as SNAP or simply “food stamps,” is a source of grave concern due to fraud and abuse. In fact, I suspect that his recent guest commentary (KCN Jan 30, 2014) on this subject was just to distract us from the fact that he voted NO on the Farm Bill which passed the House just last week with bipartisan support. Once again, we see Dr. Harris is out of touch with his constituents.
Rather than telling the whole truth, he presents some facts in misleading ways. He wants us to believe that because more people are out of work and thus in need of food assistance that food stamp “spending is out of control.” He wants us to believe that because there are some cases where fraud has occurred that this is a rampant problem. He asserts that “10.5 percent of authorized SNAP stores” have engaged in fraud, but he does not tell us that independent research to measure the amount of fraud and abuse in the food stamp program indicates that 98.3% of money spent actually goes to the needy – fraud and abuse actually account for less than 2% of the money spent on this program. We must not punish food stamp recipients, the majority of whom are indeed needy, often vulnerable children and elderly.
A couple of months ago, I took the “Food Stamp Challenge” and for one week I ate only as much food as I could purchase with the amount the average person receives in our area. I went to the grocery store and bought all the food I could purchase for just under $30. For that week, I was often hungry and grumpy. There simply wasn’t enough to eat. I actually lost four pounds. My one week experience is the reality that many of our friends and neighbors struggle with every day. In fact, I would recommend the Food Stamp Challenge to Rep. Andy Harris, or anyone else who wants to see what it is like for thousands of families.
All this hyped-up concern about fraud and abuse in SNAP is simply a smokescreen to avoid talking about other serious issues in the Farm Bill which Harris doesn’t mention at all. This bill represents a large piece of ongoing legislation that needs to be reviewed and revised every 5 years, the last of which was in 2008.
The current review has been especially contentious, and required compromises on many fronts, since it includes parts that are critically important for all of us. Milk prices, for example, would have reverted to the 1949 standards if the bill was not passed.
A dramatic change in the current bill for farmers is the ending of direct subsidies (in which payments can go to farmers NOT to produce crops) and instead shifting emphasis on supports for crop insurance. Other new or contentious areas were provisions regarding catfish farming and a labelling program for poultry and meat that requires retailers to list the country of origin. There are also new provisions regarding soil and water conservation. All of these deserve explanation and public scrutiny.
The Farm Bill passed by the House last week with bipartisan votes (251 to 166) does in fact include some cuts to food stamps (beyond the cut that already took effect at the end of November last year). As in many bills, this represents a compromise. The compromise bill is expected to save $16.6 Billion over the next 10 years.
So the budget for food stamps has already been cut last year, and cut once again with this bill. But that’s still not enough for Andy Harris, who continues to vote NO on the Farm Bill. We need to hold our representatives accountable; we expect Dr. Harris to tell the whole truth and to focus on real issues. We should not let him distract us with half-truths and misleading information. We deserve better.
John LaFerla
Chestertown, February 3, 2014
Candidate for US Congress
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