Christian advocacy groups are at odds over whether a 10 year, $39 billion cut to food stamps that the House of Representatives passed earlier this week would improve the livelihood of America's poor.
Rev. Gary Cook, the Director of Church Relations at Christian anti-hunger advocacy group, Bread for the World, has told The Christian Post that he is worried that the latest cuts could further marginalize the most vulnerable, rather than mobilize people back to work.
Cook explained that the cuts would cut off able-bodied adult Americans without dependents who had been receiving food stamps, even though they were not working.
Currently, these individuals can qualify for food stamps "if governors discover that there really aren't any jobs or there aren't any job training spots for people to get into." States then can apply for an exemption that would allow these individuals to still receive foods stamps, explained Cook.
"The people who take advantage of this are some of the poorest of the poor people in the country," Cook told CP. "Their average annual income is $2200 a person. They are among the most difficult to employee. If the government says our economy works well, when we have five or six percent unemployment, because that's our policy, at least they can eat." Keep reading
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