Related info:
– Time To Celebrate The Recovery: Food Stamp Usage Hits Fresh Record (ZeroHedge)
– New Mexico to end food stamp supplement (New Mexico Independent, May 31, 2011):
New Mexico will end a food stamp supplement for elderly and disabled residents, according to the Associated Press. The cuts come just as Congress is considering cuts to the food stamp program even as a record-high amount of people are receiving the benefits.
The AP reports that the Human Services Department will stop the supplement on July 1 because there is no money in the state budget for the program. The program cost half a million dollars last fiscal year.
Federal law requires that those who receive food stamps receive at least $16 a month. New Mexico currently provides at least $25 a month for those who qualify for food stamps.
On a federal level, ABC News reported that Congress is considering spending $2 billion less on food stamps than President Barack Obama says in his version of the budget.
A record number of Americans — about 14 percent — now rely on the federal government’s food stamps program and its rapid expansion in recent years has become a politically explosive topic.More than 44.5 million Americans received SNAP benefits in March, an 11 percent increase from one year ago and nearly 61 percent higher than the same time four years ago.