<p>Those in favor of reducing government spending by<br />
cutting the food stamp budget have never had a better reason. Word of food<br />
stamp fraud and an increase in enrollment are bad enough, but Obama&#8217;s newly<br />
revealed unauthorized use of taxpayer-funded food stamps to help illegal immigrants takes the issue to another level. ; ; ; </p>
<p>The recently launched Country Refugee and Parole Program involves the Obama ;administration ;flying in children from Central America if they have legal or illegal relatives living in the US. Not only does taxpayer money fund this, but once the kids get here, the whole family has access to public housing, free medical care, free education, and food stamps. Out of the 350,000 refugees living here 2013, over half of them received medical aid and food stamps. Over 20% took advantage of public housing. This unlawful program is currently being challenged by ;</p>
<p>Senator Jess Sessions, theChairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and<br />
the National Interest. </p>
<p>Better known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition<br />
Assistance Program), food stamps are a huge aspect of the excessive government spending<br />
repeatedly pushed by Democrats. The SNAP program was reviewed last<br />
Wednesday in congress. Topics of discussion ranged from outsourcing American jobs to<br />
arrests and imprisonment.</p>
<p>Alabama Representative David Scott proclaims that the program is necessary, backing it up with the ridiculous claim that America has a<br />
“policyâ€Â of locking up young fathers, leaving countless single moms to raise<br />
their children with little or no monetary support. As of now, there is no law on the books making it illegal to be a young father. Scott cited the statistic<br />
that the number of prisoners went from 300,000 in 1975 to over 2 million today<br />
but failed to take into account a population increase. </p>
<p>David Scott may not understand where fraud and<br />
abuse come in, but its clear when you take a look at the effect<br />
Obamacare has had on SNAP enrollment. One would think an improvement in our<br />
economy would mean less money spent on food stamps, but the reverse is<br />
occurring as Obamacare makes it easier to sign up for government aid.</p>
<p>A big part of Obamacare is educating low-income<br />
individuals on what they qualify for, which more often than not includes food<br />
stamps. And when you make the sign-up process available, online, and easy, it’s<br />
hard to say no to an extra $130 per month. Not to mention the added feature allowing people to sign up for Medicaid and SNAP at the same time. In New Mexico,<br />
22,000 individuals joined SNAP just after the state employed an online<br />
registration system for government aid.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, Medicaid expansions in 10 states<br />
coincided with an increase in SNAP enrollment. Take West Virginia, for example,<br />
where enrollment went up 4% right after the expansion. ; In Nevada, that number rose by a dramatic<br />
14%. Despite a decrease in unemployment during the past year, Illinois saw<br />
50,000 people sign up for food stamps. </p>
<p>With the new health care law, 29 additional states<br />
have decided to broaden their Medicaid program. Thankfully, 16 states (most led<br />
by Republicans) have already refused to expand. In those states, SNAP<br />
enrollment is steadily decreasing as the economy improves.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s true that many people do depend on food<br />
stamps, but lines are blurred when the incredible ease of signing up for SNAP entices individuals<br />
who wouldn&#8217;t otherwise sign up. Federal emphasis needs to be on<br />
finding jobs for these people, not making it easier for them to sit back and<br />
get help without working. ;</p>