---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Frank Tamborello <[email protected]> Date: Fri, May 24, 2013 at 12:47 PM Subject: very bad amendment proposed in Senate Farm Bill To: Frank Tamborello <[email protected]>, [email protected]
*Senate Farm Bill Now Includes Provision Banning Anyone with Violent Felony >From Ever Getting SNAP (food stamp) Assistance.* ** ** So now that weve made progress on removing the drug felon ban on SNAP benefits in California (the bill to end that ban passed the appropriations committee), guess whats happening on the* federal* level?**** ** ** Senator David Vitter of Louisiana added an amendment to the Senates Farm Bill, that would ban anyone who ever committed a violent felony from receiving SNAP (food stamps). And the Senate Democrats accepted it unanimously.**** ** ** The political angle is to make anyone voting against it look like theyre supporting taxpayer money for violent felons .(which we do anyway through the thousands of dollars spent per year on each prisoner, far more than what they would get in SNAP benefits. )**** ** ** Food benefits are for anyone who needs them. Everyone deserves to eat. No one deserves to get a life sentence that extends beyond prison walls. These are the individuals least likely to get jobs upon leaving prison and now they will be focrd into further desperation. The only real hope of getting rid of this amendment is for no Farm Bill to pass this year.**** ** ** Outrageous.**** ** ** ** ** See below for story from Crooks and Liars**** ** ** ** ** "Vitter Proposes Amendment That Would Bar Violent Criminals From SNAP" http://feedly.com/k/133L7ww **** ** ** ** ** Pardon my French (and the really bad pun), but what a nasty, vindictive piece of shit David "Huggies" Vitter is. Imagine the mind of the person who came up with this punitive way to punish poor people for their past sins, and to further marginalize and isolate them. (I guess he wants to be remembered for something even more memorably egregious than this<http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/07/11/new-orleans-madam-says-sen-david-vitter-used-her-brothel/>.) I feel my blood pressure rising as I write this. Via Colorlines:<http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/05/senate_accepts_bipartisan_deal_to_kick_formerly_incarcerated_off_food_benefits.html> **** Yesterday, Sen. Vitter of Louisiana offered up an amendment to permanently drop anyone ever convicted of a violent crime from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).**** According to Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Democrats in the Senate obliged him. The amendment is for a farm bill, which is currently being debated in the Senate.Says Greenstein<http://www.offthechartsblog.org/senator-vitter-offersand-senate-democrats-accept-stunning-amendment-with-racially-tinged-impacts/> :**** The amendment *would bar from SNAP (food stamps), for life, anyone who was ever convicted of one of a specified list of violent crimes at any time even if they committed the crime decades ago in their youth and have served their sentence, paid their debt to society, and been a good citizen ever since.* In addition, the amendment would mean lower SNAP benefits for their children and other family members.**** So, a young man who was convicted of a single crime at age 19 who then reforms and is now elderly, poor, and raising grandchildren would be thrown off SNAP, and his grandchildrens benefits would be cut.**** [ ] Democrats accepted it *without trying to modify it to address its most ill-considered aspects.***** * * *Part Two:* ** ** Frank here again .so after calling (Senator Debbie) Stabenows district office (in Michigan: the person I spoke to wasnt even aware of this amendment) I spoke to a contact in New Orleans. He said this amendment caught them by surprise too: That the only way to stop it now is either:**** ** ** --another Senator proposes and amendment to undo this one (not likely since they voted unanimously)**** --or it gets stricken out in Conference Committee if House and Senate pass farm bills and meet to reconcile**** ** ** ** ** He also said that it only applies to rapists murderers and pedophiles (Not agreeing with that, its just fyi)**** ** ** It is retroactive (imagine the administrative nightmare, not to mention the injustice)**** ** ** Our best hope is for Farm Bill to fail in the House.**** ** ** They are meeting with their other Louisiana national senator, Mary Landrieu, next week, and ask her what were people thinking when they did this.**** ** ** It also hurts families in another way: the income of the ineligible person WILL be counted (unlike the usual procedure) although of course the person is ineligible. So their children will get less food stamps if they live in the same household with one of the ineligible felons.**** ** ** ** ** Frank Tamborello**** Hunger Action Los Angeles**** 961 S. Mariposa #205**** Los Angeles CA 90006**** 213-388-8228**** [email protected]**** ** ** Sent from my Samsung Epic 4G Touch**** -- JAI RAC-LA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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