News Opinons Politics

Ocasio-Cortez: Family ‘Might’ve Just Starved’ Under Trump Food Stamp Work Requirements

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Thursday claimed that her family “might’ve just starved” had the Trump administration’s revamped food stamp work requirements taken effect years ago.

Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday reacted to the formalization of the Trump administration’s food stamp work requirements, which will take effect April 1 of next year.

“We’re taking action to reform our SNAP program in order to restore the dignity of work to a sizable segment of our population and be respectful of the taxpayers who fund the program,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said, according to NBC News.


Perdue added, echoing the words of Ronald Reagan:

Americans are generous people who believe it is their responsibility to help their fellow citizens when they encounter a difficult stretch. That’s the commitment behind SNAP, but, like other welfare programs, it was never intended to be a way of life.

Ocasio-Cortez took issue with the requirements and claimed that her family “might’ve just starved,” had they been in effect years ago.


Intense Footage: Police Officer with No Protective Gear Sprints Into Burning House and Saves Entire Family
Court Overturns Former Attorney Alex Murdaugh’s Double Murder Convictions
Dem Senate hopeful’s ‘physician’ campaign pitch under fire after license records reveal key gaps
Massie’s ex-girlfriend alleges he arranged her Capitol Hill job, then offered $5,000 to drop termination suit
Veterans group backing Iowa Democrat’s Senate bid is bankrolled by Schumer-aligned PAC
Trump struggles to shake ballroom backlash: ‘We don’t have the money’
Democrats’ midterm push clouded by infighting over party keeping 2024 autopsy under wraps
New 9/11 Museum exhibit aims to connect younger Americans to the attacks through powerful artifacts
Finland has ‘exactly the same position’ as Trump on NATO failures but pleads not to let Russia, China divide the West
Trump and Cabinet officials welcomed by Xi at China’s Great Hall of the People
CIA Accused of Raiding Tulsi Gabbard’s Office Seizing JFK, MKUltra Documents Set for Declassification
Trump’s upbeat China message collides with deepening Beijing rivalry
China rolls out red carpet for Trump as Xi meeting tests trade, Taiwan tensions
AG aims to retry Alex Murdaugh ‘quickly’; both sides enter courtroom chess match with each other’s game plans
California death row inmates watching porn on taxpayer-funded tablets, evading security controls: report

See also  Trump motorcade drives across Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to inspect renovation efforts

“My family relied on food stamps (EBT) when my dad died at 48. I was a student. If this happened then, we might’ve just starved,” she wrote on Twitter.

“Now, many people will,” she added, accusing the GOP of working “overtime to create freebies for the rich while dissolving lifelines of those who need it most”:


Intense Footage: Police Officer with No Protective Gear Sprints Into Burning House and Saves Entire Family
Court Overturns Former Attorney Alex Murdaugh’s Double Murder Convictions
Dem Senate hopeful’s ‘physician’ campaign pitch under fire after license records reveal key gaps
Massie’s ex-girlfriend alleges he arranged her Capitol Hill job, then offered $5,000 to drop termination suit
Veterans group backing Iowa Democrat’s Senate bid is bankrolled by Schumer-aligned PAC
Trump struggles to shake ballroom backlash: ‘We don’t have the money’
Democrats’ midterm push clouded by infighting over party keeping 2024 autopsy under wraps
New 9/11 Museum exhibit aims to connect younger Americans to the attacks through powerful artifacts
Finland has ‘exactly the same position’ as Trump on NATO failures but pleads not to let Russia, China divide the West
Trump and Cabinet officials welcomed by Xi at China’s Great Hall of the People
CIA Accused of Raiding Tulsi Gabbard’s Office Seizing JFK, MKUltra Documents Set for Declassification
Trump’s upbeat China message collides with deepening Beijing rivalry
China rolls out red carpet for Trump as Xi meeting tests trade, Taiwan tensions
AG aims to retry Alex Murdaugh ‘quickly’; both sides enter courtroom chess match with each other’s game plans
California death row inmates watching porn on taxpayer-funded tablets, evading security controls: report

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, responded to the freshman lawmaker’s tweet, noting that the work requirements will only apply to able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 49 who do not have dependents:

See also  Russia ends ceasefire, launching ‘200 attack drones’ at Ukraine

She rebuked the think tank’s point, vaguely asserting that the rule “ignores the reality of American life” and implied that those who disagree with her position have not “dealt with the actual lived experience”:


Intense Footage: Police Officer with No Protective Gear Sprints Into Burning House and Saves Entire Family
Court Overturns Former Attorney Alex Murdaugh’s Double Murder Convictions
Dem Senate hopeful’s ‘physician’ campaign pitch under fire after license records reveal key gaps
Massie’s ex-girlfriend alleges he arranged her Capitol Hill job, then offered $5,000 to drop termination suit
Veterans group backing Iowa Democrat’s Senate bid is bankrolled by Schumer-aligned PAC
Trump struggles to shake ballroom backlash: ‘We don’t have the money’
Democrats’ midterm push clouded by infighting over party keeping 2024 autopsy under wraps
New 9/11 Museum exhibit aims to connect younger Americans to the attacks through powerful artifacts
Finland has ‘exactly the same position’ as Trump on NATO failures but pleads not to let Russia, China divide the West
Trump and Cabinet officials welcomed by Xi at China’s Great Hall of the People
CIA Accused of Raiding Tulsi Gabbard’s Office Seizing JFK, MKUltra Documents Set for Declassification
Trump’s upbeat China message collides with deepening Beijing rivalry
China rolls out red carpet for Trump as Xi meeting tests trade, Taiwan tensions
AG aims to retry Alex Murdaugh ‘quickly’; both sides enter courtroom chess match with each other’s game plans
California death row inmates watching porn on taxpayer-funded tablets, evading security controls: report

The current rules require childless, able-bodied adults on the program to “work at least 20 hours a week for more than three months over a 36-month period to qualify for food stamps, but states have been able to create waivers for areas that face high unemployment,” according to NBC News.

See also  Trump motorcade drives across Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to inspect renovation efforts

The new rule will add restrictions to those waivers, only allowing them if the unemployment rate in the area is over six percent.

The USDA estimates that 688,000 will lose access to food stamps under the new rule, and it will save taxpayers $5.5 billion over the next five years.

The news coincides with Friday’s jobs report, which indicated that the U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs for the month. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent, “match

ing the lowest level in 50 years,” as Breitbart News reported.

Story cited here.

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter