Las Cruces Bishop Oscar Cantú Speaks Out Against Cuts in SNAP

Bishop Oscar  Cantú

Bishop Oscar Cantú has led the Diocese of Las Cruces for just a few months, but he has shown the same zeal as his predecessor, Bishop Ricardo Ramírez, in speaking out for the poor. Here are excerpts of an opinion piece that Bishop  Cantú wrote for the Silver City Sun-News, published on Sept. 2

Deep cuts to food assistance a moral scandal 

During Labor Day weekend we take time to reflect on what allows us to "put food on the table." In my line of work, as a pastor, I encounter people regularly who have to make difficult choices that no one should have to make: do I buy food or do I pay my rent? Many of our churches, synagogues, schools and community centers try to lend a hand to families in need. In many cases, the aid is appreciated but insufficient to get the family to a position of self-sufficiency.

It is during this time when so many Americans struggle to find work and put meals on the table that lawmakers in Washington are cutting a vital lifeline -- food assistance -- that protects vulnerable families from falling into poverty. This is a moral scandal that betrays our nation's best values and highest ideals.

The U.S. House of Representatives is targeting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. SNAP is widely regarded as the nation's most effective anti-hunger program. It kept more than 4 million people out of poverty in 2011, according to the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and reduced the number of children living in extreme poverty that year by half. The House is proposing to slash $40 billion over the next decade from this successful program -- double the amount lawmakers considered    Read full opinion piece