Free Republic

Obama administration officials have insisted that their decision to grant states waivers to redefine work requirements for welfare recipients would not “gut” the landmark 1996 welfare reform law. But a new report from the Congressional Research Service obtained by the Washington Examiner suggests that the administration’s suspension of a separate welfare work requirement has already helped explode the number of able-bodied Americans on food stamps. In addition to the broader work requirement that has become a contentious issue in the presidential race, the 1996 welfare reform law included a separate rule encouraging able-bodied adults without dependents to work by limiting...

No, instead, he gave them a personal loan for a house. A house filled with cancer.Nope, just a regular house they rented from Romney in the Houston suburbs. After Romney's initial investment in five rental properties went south, he ended up holding on to them for more than a decade, often renting them at a loss. The Times notes it's one of few miscues in Romney's investment history. When he did offload the homes, the renters were given first dibs, but Timothy and Betty Stamps were unable to get a loan for the home because Timothy had recently lost his...

The Mexican government has been working with the United States Department of Agriculture to increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps. USDA has an agreement with Mexico to promote American food assistance programs, including food stamps, among Mexican Americans, Mexican nationals and migrant communities in America. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/19/usda-partnering-with-mexico-to-boost-food-stamp-participation/#ixzz216eEQ2WL

By this point it's no secret that the up-to-no-good Obama administration has already got an all-time record number of people (over 45 million!) hooked of food stamps as the bloated program morphs from a safety net into a permanent middle-class entitlement.  This one single program is set to cost the federal government $770 billion over the next decade, while the annual outlay is up 100% under the current administration. Alas, that's not enough dependency for this vile, scheming regime: this month they're running radio ads -funded with your tax dollars- that aggressively encourage even more people to sign up ('they make...

Although former House Speaker and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was smeared as “racist” by many Democrats and members of the main stream media for declaring Barack Obama “the food stamp president,” it turns out that, according to the USDA, being a “food stamp president” is really hip. In fact, the nation’s agricultural agency says, in a recent video ad, that signing up for food stamps can make you look and feel your best. --snip-- Almost 48 million people received food stamps in 2011, an increase from the 28.2 million who received the welfare benefit in 2008. The cost to taxpayers...

More than one in seven Americans are on food stamps, but the federal government wants even more people to sign up for the safety net program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been running radio ads for the past four months encouraging those eligible to enroll. The campaign is targeted at the elderly, working poor, the unemployed and Hispanics. The department is spending between $2.5 million and $3 million on paid spots, and free public service announcements are also airing. The campaign can be heard in California, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, and the New York metro area. "Research...

Although former House Speaker and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was smeared as “racist” by many Democrats and members of the main stream media for declaring Barack Obama “the food stamp president,” it turns out that, according to the USDA, being a “food stamp president” is really hip. In fact, the nation’s agricultural agency says, in a recent video ad,

The next time someone moans about Washington "austerity," tell them about the Senate's food stamp votes on Tuesday. Democrats and a few Republicans united to block even modest reform in a welfare program that has exploded in the last decade and is set to spend $770 billion in the next 10 years. Yes, $770 billion on a single program. And you wonder why the U.S. had its credit-rating downgraded?

In these tough economic times, millions of Americans have leaned heavily on food stamps. This government assistance program also has done well by some of the country’s biggest banks and corporations.   An investigation by the advocacy group Eat Drink Politics found banks and businesses have reaped multi-million-dollar contracts from the government to administer food stamp programs at the state level. Yet, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), doesn’t make public how much profit the banks and other businesses earn by acting as government agents for the program.   One significant beneficiary...

WASHINGTON - A study by the Agriculture Department has found that food stamps, one of the country's largest social safety net programs, reduced the poverty rate substantially during the recession. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, reduced the poverty rate nearly 8 percent in 2009, the most recent year included in the study, a significant impact for a social program whose effects often go unnoticed by policymakers. "SNAP plays a crucial, but often underappreciated, role in alleviating poverty," said Stacy Dean, an expert on the program with the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based research group that...

A Florida lawmaker is pushing a bill that would ban the use of food stamps to purchase snacks and sweets, such as cookies and cakes. Republican State Sen. Ronda Storms, of Valrico, says her goal is to stop a small percentage of recipients who misuse food stamps. Her bill would also require food stamp recipients to take state-run classes on healthy eating and how making your own baked goods is cheaper than store-made sweets. The bill is moving through state committees in Tallahassee. Critics say the government shouldn't be telling people what to eat.

This list is in approximate chronological order, although in most cases dates and places of issue have not been decided. More stamp issues will be added here as they are announced.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It'll cost a penny more to mail a letter next year. The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday that it will increase postage rates on Jan. 22, including a 1-cent increase in the cost of first-class mail, to 45 cents.

Links to some of the stories I've read/browsed through (in no certain order)... Google Google Google Google For more, follow this search link on Google: Google

Click to the video.

Obama's Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack: "Well, obviously, it's putting people to work. Which is why we're going to have some interesting things in the course of the forum this morning. Later this morning, we're going have a press conference with Secretary Mavis and Secretary Chu to announce something that's never happened in this country -- something that we think is exciting in terms of job growth. I should point out, when you talk about the SNAP program or the foot stamp program, you have to recognize that it's also an economic stimulus. Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84...

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told MSNBC’s Morning Joe that the Obama administration has a jobs program already in place — and it’s food stamps. When asked about new numbers that show one in every seven Americans now receiving food stamps from the federal government, Vilsack said that’s good news. Food stamps create jobs, Vilsack insisted, and managed to even come up with a new multiplier effect number:

Per records, powerful congressman offered to quit, then fought allegations ### Mayor Richard M. Daley, right, and U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski attend a news conference together in 1993. Daley praised the longtime congressman after his death last August. ************* The theft of just $7,000 by a stamp clerk in the U.S. House Post Office mushroomed into a federal investigation that brought down one of the most powerful congressmen in the country, the late Daniel Rostenkowski of Chicago, according to records released Thursday by the FBI. The documents reveal that the FBI in 1992 was told by a "reliable source" that...

Can government subsidies help Sprint Nextel (S) bounce back? Perhaps so, in a way you may not think. Sprint, which reported fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, seems to be having success with its Assurance Wireless brand, a prepaid offering. Sprint launched the government-subsidized Assurance program in early 2010. Sprint now markets the Assurance brand in 22 states and Washington, D.C. Sprint expanded the Assurance brand to Pennsylvania today.

2011 is a very special year - it is the Celebration of the 100th Birthday of Ronald Reagan. There are activities and grand events planned throughout the Centennial Year. Click on the link below for an update. You'll want to get your reservations in NOW for some of them. Don't miss the Centennial Gala, held at Deer Valley Country Club in Deer Grove, IL. Guest Speaker: Newt Gingrich (includes a book-signing). This event is sponsored by the Tampico Hisorical Society & The Reagan Centennial Commission. REAGAN CENTENNIAL EVENTS CALENDAR - From Ronald Reagan Birthplace Click on photo to enlarge DOUBLE...