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.


Federal agents arrest 3 more people in connection to Minnesota church storming
Accused US killer captured in Mexico after monthslong international manhunt for recycling bin murder
Damning Video: Trump Plays Elizabeth Warren’s Eulogy for Alex Pretti Over Footage of Pretti Wildly Attacking ICE, Destroying Property – the Result Is Truly Blistering
Ilhan Omar Has Bizarre Response When Questioned About What She Did After Being Sprayed by Vinegar
Federal judge backs away from threat to hold ICE leader in contempt
Trump and GOP eye midterm convention cities in high-stakes bid to hold House, Senate
Trump officials work to ease tensions in Minneapolis as secretive negotiations progress
Who’s turning up for oil rig work in post-Maduro Venezuela
Trump administration military strikes against drug cartels in Mexico would carry risks
Explosion at metal fabricating plant leaves at least 4 people injured in Pennsylvania
AOC voices support for anti-ICE shutdown, declines to participate
Gov Abbott issues disaster declaration to prevent screwworm fly infestation from spreading into Texas
Trump says intel chief Gabbard at Georgia FBI raid to ‘keep the election safe’
Trump warns UK it’s ‘very dangerous’ to do business with China after Starmer’s Beijing meeting
Trump administration eases sanctions on Venezuelan oil industry after Maduro’s capture

See also  More than a million veterans left without primary care providers because of VA staffing losses, watchdog warns

“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”:


Federal agents arrest 3 more people in connection to Minnesota church storming
Accused US killer captured in Mexico after monthslong international manhunt for recycling bin murder
Damning Video: Trump Plays Elizabeth Warren’s Eulogy for Alex Pretti Over Footage of Pretti Wildly Attacking ICE, Destroying Property – the Result Is Truly Blistering
Ilhan Omar Has Bizarre Response When Questioned About What She Did After Being Sprayed by Vinegar
Federal judge backs away from threat to hold ICE leader in contempt
Trump and GOP eye midterm convention cities in high-stakes bid to hold House, Senate
Trump officials work to ease tensions in Minneapolis as secretive negotiations progress
Who’s turning up for oil rig work in post-Maduro Venezuela
Trump administration military strikes against drug cartels in Mexico would carry risks
Explosion at metal fabricating plant leaves at least 4 people injured in Pennsylvania
AOC voices support for anti-ICE shutdown, declines to participate
Gov Abbott issues disaster declaration to prevent screwworm fly infestation from spreading into Texas
Trump says intel chief Gabbard at Georgia FBI raid to ‘keep the election safe’
Trump warns UK it’s ‘very dangerous’ to do business with China after Starmer’s Beijing meeting
Trump administration eases sanctions on Venezuelan oil industry after Maduro’s capture

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  Gambling industry bankrolls members of Congress who push pro-gambling legislation

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”:


Federal agents arrest 3 more people in connection to Minnesota church storming
Accused US killer captured in Mexico after monthslong international manhunt for recycling bin murder
Damning Video: Trump Plays Elizabeth Warren’s Eulogy for Alex Pretti Over Footage of Pretti Wildly Attacking ICE, Destroying Property – the Result Is Truly Blistering
Ilhan Omar Has Bizarre Response When Questioned About What She Did After Being Sprayed by Vinegar
Federal judge backs away from threat to hold ICE leader in contempt
Trump and GOP eye midterm convention cities in high-stakes bid to hold House, Senate
Trump officials work to ease tensions in Minneapolis as secretive negotiations progress
Who’s turning up for oil rig work in post-Maduro Venezuela
Trump administration military strikes against drug cartels in Mexico would carry risks
Explosion at metal fabricating plant leaves at least 4 people injured in Pennsylvania
AOC voices support for anti-ICE shutdown, declines to participate
Gov Abbott issues disaster declaration to prevent screwworm fly infestation from spreading into Texas
Trump says intel chief Gabbard at Georgia FBI raid to ‘keep the election safe’
Trump warns UK it’s ‘very dangerous’ to do business with China after Starmer’s Beijing meeting
Trump administration eases sanctions on Venezuelan oil industry after Maduro’s capture

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 brags about secret weapon that was key to Maduro capture: ‘The discombobulator’

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