Congressman Brady Joins Congressional Leaders in Urging Protection for the Poor and Hungry in Deficit Reduction Negotiations

Press Release

Congressman Bob Brady (D., PA) says as the Select Committee on Deficit Reduction meets to consider ways to reduce the federal budget that the bipartisan Committee must protect critically essential programs for low income families - especially the nation's anti- hunger programs. "Our deficit reduction policies should not increase the risk of increasing hunger or poverty throughout the nation."

In a letter to Congressman James Clyburn, a member of the 12-member debt reduction Committee, Brady joined 124 Congresspersons in asking the Committee, to keep safety net programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and child nutrition programs off the chopping block in debt negotiations.

Calling SNAP the most responsive federal safety net program, Brady said its strength is that it's designed to spend more in tough times, and spend less during economic good times. But, Brady said in spite of the success of federal nutrition programs, House Republicans passed legislation this year that would weaken that safety net by capping SNAP benefits and drastically reducing other programs including the Women, Infants and Children (WIC), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).

In December, the Committee developed deficit reduction recommendations that adhered to a guiding principal of not increasing poverty or income inequality. And, Congressman Brady says that principal must be maintained. "In our fragile economy I understand that cutting more than a trillion dollars to reduce the deficit will be difficult but the poor, the working poor and those folks barely holding on economically should not be further harmed by deficit reductions."

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