Undoing Food Stamp Cuts

Last month Congress finally passed a Farm Bill with severe (though not nearly as severe as Tea Party Republicans wanted) cuts to the Food Stamp program.  But some states have found a way around implementing them.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is accusing several states of “cheating” by increasing their home heating aid to recipients of food stamps in a bid to circumvent cuts to federal funding.

The states, which are mostly in the Northeast and led by Democrats, say they are merely protecting needy citizens in a way that is well within the law.

While Boehner said last week he wanted the House “to stop” the states from avoiding the cuts, aides do not expect a fast legislative response

Let’s see those Republicans stand up for states rights in this case.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.