The farm bill just passed out of the House Agriculture Committee contains a provision barring the Secretary of Agriculture from increasing, on his own alleged authority, SNAP spending above the amounts provided for in the legislation:
[c]orrects egregious Executive branch overreach and disallows future unelected bureaucrats from arbitrarily increasing or decimating SNAP benefits.
Austin Scott (R, GA):
The Farm Bill includes protective language that prevents extreme changes to SNAP benefits without Congressional input and continues the cost-neutral status that the TFP [Thrifty Food Plan] has maintained for over 40 years.
The Progressive-Democrat Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack claimed, though, that
the proposal would amount to a roughly $27 billion cut to SNAP[.]
This is the AgSec’s confession that he fully intended to spend—on his own and without any Congressional spending authority to do so—at least those $27 billion above his authorized level. He’s not alone in this. Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo (D, CO):
…it is necessary that we go back to the negotiating table and remove this provision[.]
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D, MI):
It…does not have the votes to pass on the House floor. And certainly not in the Senate[.]
This is the budgeting and spending paradigm of the Progressive-Democratic Party: Congressional appropriations and allocations are mere suggestions, and they are to be disregarded whenever inconvenient to Party. After all, it’s only your and my money they’re spending.
There’s an election coming up. Maybe us average Americans should vote our tax dollars.