Food for children hangs in balance

Last weekend people all over the country took to the streets because our government is shattering families along our southern border, which is especially devastating to the children whose scars will take long to heal. While that captured the headlines, another threat to our children slipped in on stealthy wings.

Farm Bills, home of the funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, what we used to call Food Stamps), have passed the House and Senate and are headed a conference committee to be reconciled into a single bill. That process will not be easy — the two bills are as different as chalk and cheese.

The House Bill, passed on party lines, has been laden with egregious changes to work requirements that would take benefits away for years if lost jobs are not replaced within a couple of months. And those most likely to be hurt are children, people with disabilities, and seniors.

The Senate passed a bipartisan bill by a vote of 86-11 — a breath of fresh air in the partisan atmosphere in Washington these days. That bill contained none of the cruel measures in the House Bill.

The next step is that conference committee. That is where food for children still hangs in the balance. And, at a time when the deficit is ballooning because of tax cuts to the top tax bracket, taking food from children in the name of fiscal responsibility is immoral.

Our children, our seniors, and our people with disabilities need us all to take a stand. Please call or email Congressman Jim Himes and Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal. Ask them to talk to the leadership of both houses and to colleagues from across the aisle urging them to support and strengthen food assistance for those among us who need it most. Our children deserve no less.

M. Ryder