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Congressman Steve Daines has been a regular subject in the Chronicle's opinion pages. The Left is full of "advice" as to how he ought to comport himself. Inevitably, he's just not left enough, and that is sufficient to suggest that he simply evil or doesn't care about... [insert your preferred marginalized group here].
As a Montanan, parent, child nutrition professional, and participant of the recently convened Build a Stronger Montana: End Childhood Hunger Summit, (I commented on that summit here.)
I am very disappointed, and frankly dumfounded (sic) that Congressman Daines voted to cut $40 billion from the SNAP Program. (The Left is extremely good at repeating the lie of the day until everyone believes it. But as you know if you've been reading my blog, Ms. Bark's assertion is not true. The Democrats proposed a whopping 65% increase to the SNAP budget, while the Republicans ended up passing a 57% increase. I know math is hard, but answer me this: How much was the SNAP program budget cut? If you answered "zero," go to the head of the class.)
With 80 percent of SNAP dollars going to working families with children, Mr. Daines voted for harder times for Montana families. (The population Montana is approximately 1 million, which is .03% of the nation's population. The $40 billion reduction to the growth of the program, times .03% = $12 million, which is Montana's proportional amount. According to the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, there were 125,226 SNAP recipients in Montana as of August 2012.
One in five Montana children is at risk of suffering from hunger. The direct link between childhood hunger, brain development and a child’s ability to learn throughout their lifetime is well documented. Hunger also has a significant impact on a person’s mental health. Research indicates that a teenager that suffers from food insecurity has a significant risk for depression and increased suicidal tendencies. (All of which I'm sure is true, but that doesn't justify government spending, it simply justifies feeding people. The two things are not the same.)
Mr. Daines’ vote was a vote against the military families who have sacrificed so significantly for our country. Doesn’t he know that some military families rely on SNAP recipients? As our state’s only representative to the U.S. House, Congressman Daines states he voted yes to cut SNAP funding because he didn’t want “traditional college students or lottery winners” to receive SNAP benefits. Please Mr. Daines, base your representation of Montanans on fact, not fiction. (An interesting admonition, considering the math we just completed a couple of paragraphs ago.)
The rate of fraud in the SNAP program is less than 1 percent. With average Montana wages being among the lowest in our nation, this vote is a direct threat to working Montana families. (Having not engaged in actual research, Ms. Bark must be regurgitating talking points, engaging in hyperbole, or is really this clueless.)
Please join me in telling Congressman Daines loud and clear that his vote is not representative of Montana values. We care for our children, we help our neighbors who haven fallen on hard times, we show gratitude to our citizens in uniform and we don’t abandon our seniors. (Who is this "we?" Is "we" you and me? No. I'm pretty sure that Ms. Bark has not actually provided food to a hungry family herself. I can write with confidence that she likely hasn't opened her checkbook and contributed to a local food bank. Perhaps she has. If so, kudos. She then can legitimately employ the word "we." Otherwise, "we" means "government." And as we noted, feeding people is not the same thing as a government program.)
Speak up, and take action through our democratic process! Call Mr. Daines’ office today (202-225-3211) and let him know how you feel about his vote to pull the rug out from under struggling Montana families.
Katie Bark Bozeman
Here is another letter writer who expresses her disappointment with Rep. Daines, this time cloaked under the guise of "it's for the children!"
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As a Montanan, parent, child nutrition professional, and participant of the recently convened Build a Stronger Montana: End Childhood Hunger Summit, (I commented on that summit here.)
I am very disappointed, and frankly dumfounded (sic) that Congressman Daines voted to cut $40 billion from the SNAP Program. (The Left is extremely good at repeating the lie of the day until everyone believes it. But as you know if you've been reading my blog, Ms. Bark's assertion is not true. The Democrats proposed a whopping 65% increase to the SNAP budget, while the Republicans ended up passing a 57% increase. I know math is hard, but answer me this: How much was the SNAP program budget cut? If you answered "zero," go to the head of the class.)
With 80 percent of SNAP dollars going to working families with children, Mr. Daines voted for harder times for Montana families. (The population Montana is approximately 1 million, which is .03% of the nation's population. The $40 billion reduction to the growth of the program, times .03% = $12 million, which is Montana's proportional amount. According to the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, there were 125,226 SNAP recipients in Montana as of August 2012.
***Correction: I just remembered that the $40 billion is over TEN YEARS. That certainly changes the calculations, which makes it even worse for Ms. Bark***
Again, I know math is hard, but we can calculate that the per person amount the Republicans didn't increase the average SNAP payment was $96 per year, or $8 per month. However, the amount of the increase passed by the Republicans, $725 billion, or $218 million for Montana, is $1741 per year per recipient. Remember, this is additional money, over and above the present levels.
Again, I know math is hard, but we can calculate that the per person amount the Republicans didn't increase the average SNAP payment was $96 per year, or $8 per month. However, the amount of the increase passed by the Republicans, $725 billion, or $218 million for Montana, is $1741 per year per recipient. Remember, this is additional money, over and above the present levels.
But none of this means that the average SNAP recipient is going to receive more money. That may happen, I don't know. The reason for the funding increase is to account for all the new recipients of SNAP money. Those people, who have lost their jobs, had their savings wiped out, or lost their homes or their home equity, the people President Obama said he was going to help, those people are being added to the welfare rolls in record numbers. 5 years of stimuli, tax increases, and government wealth redistribution have only made the problems worse. And Ms. Bark apparently wants more.)
One in five Montana children is at risk of suffering from hunger. The direct link between childhood hunger, brain development and a child’s ability to learn throughout their lifetime is well documented. Hunger also has a significant impact on a person’s mental health. Research indicates that a teenager that suffers from food insecurity has a significant risk for depression and increased suicidal tendencies. (All of which I'm sure is true, but that doesn't justify government spending, it simply justifies feeding people. The two things are not the same.)
Mr. Daines’ vote was a vote against the military families who have sacrificed so significantly for our country. Doesn’t he know that some military families rely on SNAP recipients? As our state’s only representative to the U.S. House, Congressman Daines states he voted yes to cut SNAP funding because he didn’t want “traditional college students or lottery winners” to receive SNAP benefits. Please Mr. Daines, base your representation of Montanans on fact, not fiction. (An interesting admonition, considering the math we just completed a couple of paragraphs ago.)
The rate of fraud in the SNAP program is less than 1 percent. With average Montana wages being among the lowest in our nation, this vote is a direct threat to working Montana families. (Having not engaged in actual research, Ms. Bark must be regurgitating talking points, engaging in hyperbole, or is really this clueless.)
Please join me in telling Congressman Daines loud and clear that his vote is not representative of Montana values. We care for our children, we help our neighbors who haven fallen on hard times, we show gratitude to our citizens in uniform and we don’t abandon our seniors. (Who is this "we?" Is "we" you and me? No. I'm pretty sure that Ms. Bark has not actually provided food to a hungry family herself. I can write with confidence that she likely hasn't opened her checkbook and contributed to a local food bank. Perhaps she has. If so, kudos. She then can legitimately employ the word "we." Otherwise, "we" means "government." And as we noted, feeding people is not the same thing as a government program.)
Speak up, and take action through our democratic process! Call Mr. Daines’ office today (202-225-3211) and let him know how you feel about his vote to pull the rug out from under struggling Montana families.
Katie Bark Bozeman
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