Budget Must Reflect Our Values

This is an excerpt from an opinion piece published in the Oakland Tribune on April 26.

In case you missed it, our elected officials voted last week to make more Americans go hungry -- denying reality, evading responsibility and spurning morality.

Charged with finding $42 billion in cuts to domestic programs, the House voted to cut $33 billion from food assistance for our nation's hungry -- children, seniors, working families and the disabled.

Some who voted for this cut justify it by arguing that the nation's poor have food banks to rely on.

Whether these statements are simply naive or maliciously misleading, one thing is certain: they're false. That $33 billion is equal to the budget of every food bank in America, many times over. This isn't a cut -- it's an amputation.

This recession has been long, and hard on those already vulnerable. We've been incredibly lucky that our community has stepped up in great numbers to donate and volunteer to help us meet the need. But our neighbors already line up for 2 hours for simple staples like bread, potatoes and onions. Food banks need more supply -- not more demand.

The American people deserve a budget that reflects our values. Seventy-seven percent of Americans believe that cutting food assistance is the wrong way to reduce spending. We agree.

Let's make sure Congress doesn't get away with taking food off our neighbors' tables in the name of fiscal responsibility.