Congressional Republicans are holding the nation’s full faith and credit hostage in an effort to impose devastating cuts that would hurt rural communities, raise costs for hardworking families, and set back economic growth. And they demand these cuts while separately advancing proposals to add over $3 trillion to deficits through tax cuts and giveaways skewed to the wealthy and big corporations.
Congressional Republicans have put forward an extreme proposal that would increase food insecurity by taking food assistance away from older Americans who rely on SNAP by adding burdensome, bureaucratic requirements and limiting states’ flexibility to protect especially vulnerable people who are already subject to work requirements, like veterans and individuals experiencing homelessness. These harmful proposals increase the likelihood that Americans and their families go hungry and jeopardize their long-term health and well-being. The changes proposed would also hurt American agriculture and the broader economy since SNAP benefits translate into demand for the food that American farmers produce and jobs for the people who work throughout the food supply chain from farmworkers and truckers to the people who work at manufacturing facilities and in grocery stores especially in rural areas where a greater percentage of households receive SNAP benefits.
While the President’s Budget details a plan to strengthen rural economies, increase resiliency, and support rural health, House Republicans’ proposal to cut a broad range of critical programs by 22% will:
Raise Prices at Grocery Stores and Restaurants. The proposal would mean as many as 1,800 fewer food safety inspectors, leading to a lost production volume of more than 11.5 billion pounds of meat, an additional 11.1 billion pounds of poultry, and over 590 million pounds of egg products. The industry would experience a production loss of as much as $416 billion and consumers would face shortages and higher prices for meat, poultry, and egg products at grocery stores and restaurants.
Eliminate Housing Support for Rural Tenants. The proposal would cause as many as 63,000 current recipients of USDA-funded rental assistance in rural communities to lose their unit contract, putting these families at increased risk of homelessness and undermining the supply of affordable housing.
Limit Households from Getting Connected to Broadband. The proposal would mean approximately 125,000 fewer households would be connected to high-speed internet services that are crucial for job creation, accessing telehealth services, closing the digital divide between rural and urban students, and supporting rural economies.
Cut Technical Assistance for Rural Communities. The proposal would cut critical technical assistance for rural communities through the Rural Partners Network (RPN), which currently supports 36 rural communities in ten states and Puerto Rico, with proven results connecting these communities to job- and infrastructure-generating resources. Rural communities in at least two states would no longer be supported by full-time federal staff through RPN, reducing access to assistance and resources across the federal government for families, homeowners, seniors, veterans, small businesses, agricultural producers, and more.
Impair Water Quality Improvements and Conservation Efforts. The proposal would mean 84,000 fewer farmers and ranchers would receive conservation planning assistance, impacting up to 54,000,000 acres and undermining conservation efforts and water quality improvements.
Source: usda.gov
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Categories: Wisconsin, Government & Policy