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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – We are told that one of the consequences of the federal government shutdown is that Foodshare benefits will run out at the end of October.
Foodshare is a program that’s fully funded by the federal government. When the feds are closed, SNAP cards won’t be reloaded. Back benefits will likely be paid once the shutdown ends.
For a moment, let’s set aside who’s responsible for the government shutdown. To me, it’s the Democrats… refusing to agree to a continuing resolution that’s the same as one they said ‘yes’ to back in March. People who disagree with me politically will certainly blame Republicans. Neither side in this stalemate has an interest in seeing people go hungry.
The solution is simple. Wisconsin has a $4.6-billion surplus. Let’s dip into it, temporarily, and fund the foodshare benefit. The state will be made whole once the shutdown is over.
Neither the Dems or the GOP would be taking sides on the shutdown itself. This would simply be about making sure people have food to eat.
Republicans should go first. Draft a bill for one month of foodshare benefits. Get it to Governor Evers’ desk, and allow him to sign it. This would be a rare and welcome moment of bipartisanship, with neither side scoring political points.
Funding the foodshare program from the state surplus sends exactly the right message: hunger isn’t an issue of the left or right. It’s, for once, our politicians doing what’s right for the right reason.
Chris Conley
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