Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Dallas Morning News: We get the picture that Washington is one beat-up town after its brutal budget fight. But politicians must get on with the nation’s business.
President Barack Obama said as much when he noted that Capitol Hill has yet to renew the farm bill. The legislation governing the agricultural industry expired Sept. 30. Farmers and ranchers will remain in limbo until legislators renew the five-year legislation, which affects everything from crop production to water conservation to food stamps.
It’s the food stamps piece that has gummed things up. The House voted last month to cut $40 billion over 10 years from food stamp spending. The Senate prefers a $4.5 billion reduction.
The Senate has it right. Undoubtedly, there are ways to wrangle savings out of the food stamp budget. The number of recipients has jumped from 26 million in 2007 to 47 million in 2012. But taking $40 billion out of food stamps would hammer deserving families