“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” – Lao Tzu See Black History Month Section Inside •
C e l e b r a t i n g 4 9 Ye a r s o f S e r v i c e
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Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area / Vol. 49, No.19 Feb. 20 - Feb. 26, 2014
Despite Critics Obama Pushes Forward
Obama Supporters Suggest Blacks are Better Off By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer Before the ink from President Barack Obama’s signature dried from signing the controversial Farm Bill earlier this month, critics, pundits and others said legislation passed under his watch has negatively affected African Americans and the poor. But, Obama and those who support the two-term president, said he’s done plenty to help African Americans and other underserved communities. “You cannot blame the president for legislation that has gone wrong,” said Springfield, Va. resident Felix Contreras. “He has stuck his neck out for minorities, but whenever he tries to do more, to help, Congress, the Senate and everyone else gets in the way,” said Contreras, 44, who works as a termite and pest exterminator. The president’s critics argue that several pieces of legislation signed by Obama have only served to harm the black community, including the Farm Bill which cut by $8 billion the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps. “This bill is so bad, they literally stripped reform from the title,” Steve Ellis, vice president
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Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund, called cuts to the food stamp program in the Farm Bill indefensible. /Photo by Shevry Lassiter
Farm Bill Gets Mixed Reviews Opponents Say Legislation Hurts the Poor By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer To some African Americans and others in leadership positions like Congressional Black Caucus Chair, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), the newly minted Farm Bill that President Barack Obama signed earlier
this month, represents a compromise in the right direction. For others, such as Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund in Northwest, compromise shouldn’t come at the expense of the well-being of already struggling families. Prior to the president signing
the bill, lawmakers passed the legislation after several years of haggling over farming subsidies and efforts by Republicans to reduce financing for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps. The bill replaces direct crop payments to farmers with an insurance program and it trims $8
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billion from food stamps over the next 10 years, much less than the $40 billion cut proposed by Republicans. “It’s a fair and bipartisan bill that meets the needs of the American people while reducing federal spending by $23 billion,”
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