Republicans put political partisanship above American security: Political theater!
Echo editorial opinion published in the Nevada Sun newspaper:
After a month-long summer vacation in August, Congress now has less than three weeks to pass legislation that will keep the government operating beyond the end of the fiscal year, on September 30.
Which is why it is almost beyond belief that, instead of funding programs that millions of Americans rely on for basic subsistence, such as Medicare, Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), McCarthy and the GOP are focused on scoring cheap political points via the impeachment inquiry.
McCarthy claims that the impeachment inquiry is a “logical” response to unfounded accusations that Biden traded access to the White House in exchange for personal profit and support for his son Hunter’s business ventures. But in the stark absence of any supporting evidence, it’s difficult to see the GOP’s refusal to govern while they continue investigating Biden as anything but a cheap ploy.
It also means that the GOP is ignoring a $2 billion payment to Trump’s son-in-law by the Saudis immediately after his term ended and significant favors that were bestowed on the Saudis. But corruption in plain sight appears to be fine with the GOP, so why not shut down the government too?
Of course, government shutdowns rarely benefit anyone but credit card companies and pay-day loan centers, yet they can have cataclysmic consequences on low-income Americans.
While many Americans only interact with the federal government in the context of post offices, passports and taxes, the country’s most vulnerable residents often rely on the federal government for their health, safety, security and livelihood. Among the most vulnerable are children and seniors who receive federal food assistance.
During the pandemic, Congress increased funding and expanded access to SNAP in order to provide more benefits to a greater number of low-income women, children and seniors. While the pandemic rules made more Americans eligible for SNAP, beneficiaries still needed to be U.S. citizens or qualified resident aliens with a Social Security number.
Even with increased funding, it wasn’t a lot of money. In 2022, the average SNAP recipient in Nevada received about $7.70 in daily benefits. As pandemic-era funding and eligibility increases expire, that number is expected to drop to only $5.85 in 2023 and below $5 in 2024.
Given recent inflation in the price of food, providing nutritious and filling meals to someone for less than $5 a day is simply not possible. That’s why President Joe Biden has requested $1.4 billion to bolster SNAP benefits specifically for women, children and infants, as well as increased funding for senior citizens and people with disabilities.
But GOP members of the House aren’t having it. They’re refusing to budge on demands for steep cuts to almost all government programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP, taking food out of the mouths of the most vulnerable Americans and leaving more than one-third of Nevadans in health care limbo.
What’s worse is that a bipartisan solution is already on the table. The Senate Appropriations Committee has already passed a full set of government funding bills that include a compromise increase to SNAP benefits. The bills were passed from the committee with bipartisan support and have received praise from members of both parties for their substance and the bipartisan leadership demonstrated in the process of passing them.
McCarthy clearly lacks the leadership ability of his Senate peers and is instead a toady to House extremists intent on spending their time investigating Biden instead of negotiating solutions to help feed women, children, seniors and people with disabilities.
The House GOP’s investigation of Biden is indeed a historic moment for all the wrong reasons, as it debases the important guardrail protecting Americans to vile political theater. But if funding bills are not passed soon that keep the government open and American children fed, the investigation also will be remembered as a historically cruel and disgusting moment in GOP opportunism. A moment in which, with the clock ticking and the American people watching, the GOP chose politics over governance and “owning libs” over feeding babies.
House GOP prefers political theater to helping vulnerable Americans.
GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (bogus!~ wrong minded!) decision to launch an impeachment investigation against President Joe Biden will be remembered as an earth-shattering event in U.S. history, but not for the reasons he thinks.
After a month-long summer vacation in August, Congress now has less than three weeks to pass legislation that will keep the government operating beyond the end of the fiscal year, on September 30.
Which is why it is almost beyond belief that, instead of funding programs that millions of Americans rely on for basic subsistence, such as Medicare, Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), McCarthy and the GOP are focused on scoring cheap political points via the impeachment inquiry.
McCarthy claims that the impeachment inquiry is a “logical” response to unfounded accusations that Biden traded access to the White House in exchange for personal profit and support for his son Hunter’s business ventures. But in the stark absence of any supporting evidence, it’s difficult to see the GOP’s refusal to govern while they continue investigating Biden as anything but a cheap ploy.
It also means that the GOP is ignoring a $2 billion payment to Trump’s son-in-law by the Saudis immediately after his term ended and significant favors that were bestowed on the Saudis. But corruption in plain sight appears to be fine with the GOP, so why not shut down the government too?
Of course, government shutdowns rarely benefit anyone but credit card companies and pay-day loan centers, yet they can have cataclysmic consequences on low-income Americans.
While many Americans only interact with the federal government in the context of post offices, passports and taxes, the country’s most vulnerable residents often rely on the federal government for their health, safety, security and livelihood. Among the most vulnerable are children and seniors who receive federal food assistance.
During the pandemic, Congress increased funding and expanded access to SNAP in order to provide more benefits to a greater number of low-income women, children and seniors. While the pandemic rules made more Americans eligible for SNAP, beneficiaries still needed to be U.S. citizens or qualified resident aliens with a Social Security number.
Even with increased funding, it wasn’t a lot of money. In 2022, the average SNAP recipient in Nevada received about $7.70 in daily benefits. As pandemic-era funding and eligibility increases expire, that number is expected to drop to only $5.85 in 2023 and below $5 in 2024.
Given recent inflation in the price of food, providing nutritious and filling meals to someone for less than $5 a day is simply not possible. That’s why President Joe Biden has requested $1.4 billion to bolster SNAP benefits specifically for women, children and infants, as well as increased funding for senior citizens and people with disabilities.
But GOP members of the House aren’t having it. They’re refusing to budge on demands for steep cuts to almost all government programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP, taking food out of the mouths of the most vulnerable Americans and leaving more than one-third of Nevadans in health care limbo.
What’s worse is that a bipartisan solution is already on the table. The Senate Appropriations Committee has already passed a full set of government funding bills that include a compromise increase to SNAP benefits. The bills were passed from the committee with bipartisan support and have received praise from members of both parties for their substance and the bipartisan leadership demonstrated in the process of passing them.
McCarthy clearly lacks the leadership ability of his Senate peers and is instead a toady to House extremists intent on spending their time investigating Biden instead of negotiating solutions to help feed women, children, seniors and people with disabilities.
The House GOP’s investigation of Biden is indeed a historic moment for all the wrong reasons, as it debases the important guardrail protecting Americans to vile political theater. But if funding bills are not passed soon that keep the government open and American children fed, the investigation also will be remembered as a historically cruel and disgusting moment in GOP opportunism. A moment in which, with the clock ticking and the American people watching, the GOP chose politics over governance and “owning libs” over feeding babies.
Labels: Boston Globe, GOP, Nevada Sun, Speaker Kevin McCarthy
posted by Juliana L'Heureux | 5:41 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home