Food Stamp Program Aggressively Enrolls Foreigners – Fair or Not [AUDIO, POLL]

I made a point of talking about the abuses to the Food Stamp program a couple of weeks ago; and was fortunate to have on the air with me Assemblyman Gary Chiusano, who reiterated what he had told our David Matthau

The bill he wanted to introduce that would attempt to end abuses to the Food Stamp program here in NJ.

It doesn’t stop there!

You may not have known this, but according to this report:

The Mexican government has been distributing information about the U.S. food stamp program through its embassy and dozens of consular offices, a partnership that one Republican senator says is the latest example of an "aggressive" push to "expand enrollment regardless of need."

Sen. Jeff Sessions raised concerns about the program in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack -- one week after he complained about a Spanish-language ad campaign encouraging residents to go on food stamps.

The USDA ended the campaign following criticism, but Sessions warned in his letter that the U.S.-Mexico partnership is a symptom of the same approach.

His concern -- that Mexican immigrants are being guided toward government assistance instead of "gainful employment."

"It has become increasingly clear that the mission of the food stamp program has moved from targeted welfare assistance for those in need into an aggressive drive to expand enrollment regardless of need," he wrote.

Both the Spanish-language ad campaign and the U.S.-Mexico partnership were launched under the George W. Bush administration.

The USDA says on its website that it is meant to "educate eligible Mexican nationals living in the United States about available nutrition assistance." To do that, Mexico distributes materials through its embassy and 50 consular offices.

Now that has to be a kick in the ass to the many Americans who desperately need the assistance of the program; and for one reason or another, either can’t qualify for food stamps because of income “ineligibility” or pride.

Amazing that with the abuses we’ve talked about in the program, that instead of tightening the requirements to enroll, and keeping tabs on those who’ve already enrolled; our government makes an aggressive effort to enroll Mexican nationals and migrant workers.

Again, the program isn’t eligible for illegals…however why the aggressive outreach to foreigners over our own citizens.

The report continues:

"Congress has directed USDA to perform outreach to eligible populations who may be in need of nutrition assistance to help reduce hunger in America," the department said in a statement Thursday. "To that end, the partnership with the Mexican embassy was established in 2004. USDA does not perform outreach to immigrants that are undocumented, and therefore not eligible for (the program)."

Wonderful.
I always thought charity began at home!

If you missed the interview I conducted with Assemblyman Gary Chiusano last week, you can listen to both parts of the interview here:

Here is Part II of the interview :

Do you feel the USDA’s effort to aggressively enroll Mexican nationals and migrant workers in the Food Stamp Program is fair?
Not even a little bit.
Yes, since many of them do the work American citizens won’t.