Biden on cuts to food stamps: ‘This administration is morally bankrupt’

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday blasted President Trump over his administration’s move to implement cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) amid the passage of a defense spending package.

“Donald Trump is cutting food assistance for 700,000 people, but somehow found $1.4 billion for his sham of a border wall. This administration is morally bankrupt,” Biden tweeted, retweeting a post from Trump in which he celebrates the $738 billion National Defense Authorization Act he signed last week that authorizes military spending.

Donald Trump is cutting food assistance for 700,000 people, but somehow found $1.4 billion for his sham of a border wall. This administration is morally bankrupt. https://t.co/1CPQhgNUdx

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 26, 2019

The package kept funding for Trump’s wall along the southern border steady from previous years at $1.37 billion. In his original budget proposal, Trump asked Congress for $5 billion in additional funds for construction.

The Trump administration proposed a change to SNAP, a program formerly referred to as food stamps, earlier this year that would stiffen the rules for states seeking waivers for a requirement that food stamp recipients be employed or enrolled in vocational training programs. Federal estimates say the proposal could cut benefits from up to 750,000 people.

The plan was formally adopted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this month.

Biden isn’t the only 2020 candidate to slam the food assistance change.

Earlier this week, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) published an op-ed in The Guardian blasting the Trump administration for the work requirement change and two other plans proposed this year limiting food stamps across the country for an estimated 3.7 million people.