Contact: Sen. Hansen, 608-266-5670

In typical fashion Republicans cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy at the expense of children

(Madison)—In what should be no surprise, after having slashed taxes for corporations and the nation’s richest millionaires and billionaires, House Republicans are now proposing to cut critical programs that provide food to thousands of children in Wisconsin. All told under the GOP House plan over 23,000 children will be denied food assistance as a result of cuts to programs that provide food to needy and struggling families. Many of the children who will be hardest hit live in rural communities around the state including Northeast Wisconsin.

“Coming from the party that desperately wants to gut Medicare and Social Security, this really should be no surprise to anyone who is paying attention. But it is no less shocking that they are now actively working to deprive hungry children in low income families of the very food they need to grow, stay healthy and survive,” said Hansen. “They ought to be ashamed.”

Preventing child hunger used to be one of the cornerstones of the nation’s safety net. But with more and more extreme Republicans taking control of Congress and the state legislature, programs that provide much-needed assistance to children of struggling families are now on the chopping block.

“It used to be that people from both parties recognized the importance of having a strong safety net for our children. But with this bunch running things out in Washington, giving our hard-earned money to corporations and billionaires who already have way more than they can spend is the priority. Making sure every kid has a decent meal and start in life is not. I’m not even sure it’s on their list.”

A new report from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau said the GOP’s 2018 Farm Bill will limit who is eligible to receive food assistance resulting in 23,369 Wisconsin children losing access to FoodShare assistance and free or reduced school lunches. Included in that number are over 4,100 children living in Brown, Oconto, Marinette, Kewaunee and Door counties.

“None of these children have a say into what kind of economic circumstances they’re born in to. They aren’t old enough to vote. Yet, for some reason Paul Ryan and his ilk see no problem taking food out of their mouths. If that’s their idea of responsible governing then they have definitely been in Washington too long.”

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