Congress shouldn’t target the hungry

Aimee Miller, Las Vegas

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013 | 2:01 a.m.

As someone whose mother relies on food stamps to eat every month, the recent talk of cutting SNAP benefits and other such programs is extremely alarming. The thought of my mother going hungry causes me unimaginable pain. It is gut-wrenching. I help out when I can, but there is only so much that I can do. She — no, we — need your help.

Congress is debating a farm bill that will direct our agriculture and nutrition policy for the next several years. The House and Senate passed two very different bills. The main difference between the bills? The amount of money being cut from food stamps, now known as SNAP. Some want to gut the program. Others want to protect it.

On Nov. 1, every food stamp recipient saw their benefits reduced.

Now some in Congress want to double down on low-income Americans.

Whether you support or oppose the program, we weaken our nation when we make it more difficult for families to put food on the table.

I’d like to see our members of Congress work to pass a farm bill that protects anti-hunger programs and finds a better way to balance the budget than pulling the rug out from under Americans struggling to get by.