Dems Kill First Lady's Nutrition Bill
Politico reports:
A bloc of progressive House Democrats resisted heavy White House lobbying and an 11th-hour push to broker a compromise on a child nutrition bill, ending chances that the legislation — a pet project of first lady Michelle Obama — would pass before the November midterm elections.
At the root of the impasse: a proposed $2.2 billion cut in future funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food stamps for the poor. Despite personal appeals by the first lady, the Democrats balked at what they saw as a plan to pay for the nutrition bill by quietly cutting SNAP — an essential food safety net that lawmakers had already borrowed from to pay for emergency aid to states.
White House spokesman Reid Cherlin said the administration has committed to restoring any proposed cuts to SNAP and will do all it can to move the $8 billion bill forward.
“SNAP is not blocking the bill,” he said. “We’re working with the House leadership to schedule the bill as soon as it fits into the House schedule.”
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