Letters to the Editor: It’s time for Congress to make poor families a priority

To the editor: I share concerns for how the House debt ceiling plan would negatively affect food assistance. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is our flagship nutrition program.

This year, we have a chance to improve SNAP when the U.S. Farm Bill is reauthorized. We can improve access to fresh produce for people experiencing poverty. We can eliminate barriers to SNAP for marginalized populations, including ending the SNAP ban for former drug offenders and eliminating work requirements for low-income college students.

SNAP is an effective program that should be expanded, not gutted. I urge Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) to include these improvements and support a Farm Bill that builds healthy and equitable food systems.

Cynthia Changyit Levin, St. Louis, Mo.

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To the editor: Readers have pointed out the pointless politics surrounding the debt-ceiling debates while American families in poverty face hunger, homelessness and hopelessness. It’s time for Congress to address the millions of children and families experiencing these terrible consequences of poverty. Congress knows what works: The expanded child tax credit cut child poverty nearly in half. Time to renew it: Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) are introducing the American Families Act that will do just that. We can ask our representatives to join them in pushing this path to equity, then move on to other initiatives that lift families out of the dire straits of poverty, such as a renter tax credit that will keep people housed. This isn’t rocket science, just common sense and compassion to end these unnecessary burdens on America’s most vulnerable.

Willie Dickerson, Snohomish, Wash.

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To the editor: President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) do not yet agree if the debt ceiling should be raised so that the U.S. will not default in paying for its obligations. McCarthy also advocates for cuts in the federal budget.

A way out of this dilemma is to cut the defense budget. The best item in the defense budget to cut is spending on nuclear weapons. They cannot be used, for their use will result in the elimination of all of humanity (and all other species). Enough money could be saved to pay for the retirement of all workers involved in their development and storage. Perhaps these workers can be re-employed to fight climate change or serve humanity in some other way.

Larry Dorshkind, Redwood City