Press Releases—John LaFerla, Candidate for Congress in MD-01, issued the following statement on Andy Harris’ recent vote, which cut millions of dollars from the critical food stamp program:
“Last week, in two stunning votes, Andy Harris clearly showed his disdain for the needs of the people he supposedly represents in Congress.
He voted to cut 4 million people from the food stamp program, despite the fact that over 10% of his constituents in Maryland’s 1st Congressional district rely on this vital assistance. In an interview on CNN he justifies this cut by citing waste and abuse in the system. However, he fails to mention that the actual estimate of inappropriate use of food stamps is less than 2%. And, of course he doesn’t mention the thousands of people in District 1 who would be cut off from food assistance by his action. The reason for the increased use of the food stamp program in recent years is our poor economy, with many people out of work for long periods. The need for supplemental food assistance will go down once the economy has further recovered.
In a separate vote, he went along with his Tea Party colleagues voting to bring the country to the brink of a government shutdown. To continue paying the country’s bills, Harris insists on only funding the government under the condition that the Affordable Care Act be defunded. His vote is purely political, has no chance of becoming law, and is totally irresponsible. The people of the 1st congressional district need their Congressman to represent their interests in Washington, not to waste time making meaningless political points.”
Contact Keauna Gregory, [email protected]