Daily Archives: June 18, 2013

elections

PDA Demands Feed People not Pentagon

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We Say Feed the People NOT the Pentagon!

Dear Supporter,

Video: A Defining Moment

It’s down to this; the Senate says cut $4 billion from the food stamps program, the House says cut $20 billion. The “compromise” will no doubt be somewhere in between.

We say no.

We join with Rep. Jim McGovern to ask for a “No!” vote on the farm bill, if these awful cuts remain.

We say no more hunger, at a time when more people rely on food stamps than ever before.

We say no to cutting up to 2 million poor people from food stamps, including hundreds of thousands of hungry children.

We say either restore the food stamp cuts, or vote No on the farm bill.

If you agree with us, join our “Educate Congress” letter drops this week. If you agree with us, please call and email your elected officials. We are progressives. And progressives do not pick on the weak, the poor, the hungry. Progressives do not add to the military budget, while carving up the food stamp budget.

Restore the food stamp cuts, or vote No on the farm bill.

Peace and Justice,

Tim Carpenter
Executive Director, PDA

P.S.–Please join our “Educate Congress” letter drops this week. You can click here for more details. And if you agree with PDA’s work to fight hunger, to fight these nasty cuts in the food stamp program, please donate here.

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elections

Progressive Democrats Demand Release of Trade Agreement Details

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Alan GraysonWASHINGTON — Progressive Democrats in Congress are ramping up pressure on the Obama administration to release the text of Trans-Pacific Partnership, a secretive free trade agreement with 10 other nations, amid intensifying controversy over the administration’s transparency record and its treatment of classified information.

The only publicly available information on the terms of the deal has come from leaks, some of which have alarmed public health experts, environmentalist groups and consumer advocates. According to a document leaked in the summer of 2012, the deal would allow corporations to directly challenge government laws and regulations in international courts.

Members of Congress have been provided with only limited access to the negotiation documents. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) told HuffPost on Monday that he viewed an edited version of the negotiation texts last week, but that secrecy policies at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative created scheduling difficulties that delayed his access for nearly six weeks. The Obama administration has barred any Congressional staffers from reviewing the text and prohibited members of Congress from discussing the specific terms of the text with trade experts and reporters.

“This, more than anything, shows the abuse of the classified information system,” Grayson told HuffPost. “They maintain that the text is classified information. And I get clearance because I’m a member of Congress, but now they tell me that they don’t want me to talk to anybody about it because if I did, I’d be releasing classified information.”

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elections

Mayors Oppose Cuts in Food Stamps

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Jun 18, 2013  |  NYC.gov

Mayor Bloomberg and 17 mayors from cities across the country today wrote to Members of Congress to outline the importance of maintaining funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps).

SNAP is a critical program for 47 million Americans, particularly children and seniors, who rely on food stamps to protect against hunger and poverty during periods of financial hardship.

The proposed Farm Bill on the floor of the House of Representatives this week would cut over $20 billion from SNAP, severely impacting the ability of these vulnerable families to put nutritious meals on the table. Instead of cutting benefits for these families, Congress should look at ways to strengthen the SNAP program. They should test and evaluate approaches that would limit SNAP’s subsidization of products, such as sugar-sweetened beverages, that are contributing disproportionately to obesity and instead provide incentives to promote healthful eating through the consumption of fruits and vegetables.

In New York City more than $4 billion is spent annually on health care costs related to obesity and the SNAP program should be at the forefront of promoting good nutrition. Congress should also strengthen SNAP by partnering with state and local governments to enhance anti-fraud efforts among SNAP retailers. This will ensure that taxpayer dollars are being used for SNAP benefits and not lining the pockets of fraudulent retailers.

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