The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
Another Memorial Day observed as we honor Americans who died while serving in the military. Thinking of two WWII heroes who have passed – Kansas GOP Senator Bob Dole and South Dakota Democratic Senator George McGovern. Both were highly decorated combat veterans from farm states. Their commonality helped them cross the partisan divide. They led on expanding the now called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This alleviated hunger, provided a market for farmers and customers for grocery stores.
Dole and McGovern never stopped dreaming on how to end U.S. and world hunger. McGovern, who became U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, reached out again to Dole. Together they pitched the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program to Congress which funded it. The program buys U.S. agriculture commodities to distribute abroad to reduce hunger and encourage school attendance. However, the Trump administration wants to eliminate the program, saying it’s “neither necessary (nor) efficient as support for U.S. farmers.” Cruel and shameful.
The GOP-led House passage of the misnamed “One Big Beautiful Act” continues down that monstrous road. It cuts taxes mostly for the wealthy, shreds food aid and health care coverage, and massively increases the national debt. Republicans, knowing full well of popular support for SNAP, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), decided to eviscerate food aid and health care coverage by means other than repeal. The GOP scheme is to call the cuts “waste, fraud and abuse”, make unreasonable bureaucratic demands of enrollees, strangle the programs with red tape and use mumbo jumbo to call their efforts “reforms”.
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Wisconsin GOP 3rd Congressional District (CD) Representative Derrick Van Orden who voted yes with all other Wisconsin GOP representatives, claimed the bill: “Restored integrity in the SNAP program … . Strengthens, secures and sustains Medicaid for the most vulnerable.” During the after midnight debate Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accurately pointed out the legislation was cruel and deceptive. Van Orden responded with a diatribe against Jeffries on X: “Pretendabama, is lying his ass off again. Fearmongering … .” However, the reality is that millions of Americans will be severely hurt. Van Orden lacks character, empathy and judgment.
Van Orden ignored Wisconsin Catholic bishops and doctors who contradicted GOP non-factual nonsense with unassailable facts. Millions of Americans, including nearly 90,000 Wisconsinites, will no longer be eligible for SNAP or will see reduced benefits. The same holds true for Medicaid and the ACA. The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee estimated that 28,953 in the 3rd CD would lose Medicaid or ACA health care coverage. 13.7 million Americans, including 228,659 Wisconsinites would lose Medicaid or ACA health care coverage.
What will the Senate do? Count on Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin to oppose this heartless immoral bill. However, Wisconsin GOP Senator Ron Johnson wants bigger health care coverage cuts to pay for more tax cuts for the rich. Johnson, like Van Orden, didn’t listen to the Catholic bishops and doctors who oppose cutting food aid and health care coverage. Beyond appalling!
Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.
