Food stamps or teachers? Congress takes from one to pay for the other.

[Robbien]

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Washington -- It was food stamps versus teachers, and food stamps lost.

U.S. Senate Democrats made that choice in two separate actions this week, voting to take back $14 billion from the federal food stamp program in late 2013 to help pay now for a financial bailout of schools, state health programs and a small bump-up – six cents apiece – in the subsidy for school lunches.

The Senate votes occurred the same week in which the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that usage of food stamps -- formally called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program --reached a historic high. There were 40.8 million recipients in May, a result of the sour economy.

. . .

"If in a $14 trillion economy, with a $3 trillion federal budget, the only way Congress can come up with the money is to cut food stamps, the country's in a lot of trouble," said Jim Weill, president of the Food Action and Research Center, a national anti-hunger group.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/08/food_stamps_or_teachers_congre.html

---

Completely dumbfounded.