To my Kansan friends…in case you missed it, Senate Bill 501 was introduced last Thursday in the Kansas Senate. Ho-hum, so what, you might be thinking. Another day, another bill.
But if you’re a struggling family, a single mother with children, or anyone who’s struggling with post-pandemic problems regarding jobs and medical issues, this bill is designed to fuck you over.
Clay Wirestone, writing for the Kansas Reflector, says The bill’s main advocate wasn’t even a Kansas legislator: It was the Florida-based Opportunity Solutions Project, the lobbying branch of Koch-linked Foundation for Government Accountability. And the cost of a bill meant to restrict access to lifesaving programs for families? Some $27 million for administration.
It’s tied to the Koch empire? What a shock. That group, the Foundation for Government Accountability, also advocates in statehouses across the country for restrictions to Medicaid and food assistance, as well as unemployment aid. In Kansas, the group also has lobbied for changes in election law. I think we need a group called Foundation for Greedy Capitalists Accountability.
This bill would add more red tape to the process of getting much needed assistance and cost the taxpayers, as mentioned above, some $27 million for the privilege. All this while there are bills in the Legislature that would have improved matters, including House Bill 2525 and 2215. The first one failed in the House by a 53-66 vote, and the second one, which would have repealed the lifetime ban on receiving SNAP for those with more than one drug felony, couldn’t get past committee due to Republican dissent. Duh.
Kansas Appleseed anti-hunger campaign director Haley Kottler said “What I heard from proponents of this bill was Kansans need to go back to work, and public assistance and SNAP food assistance should be for the ‘truly needy. And there was an emphasis on the ‘truly needy.’ And what I want to say to that is one in eight Kansans are truly needy. We’re just, hopefully, we’re getting out of a pandemic, we’re digging out of it. But you see the rising gas prices. I’m seeing inflation at the grocery store. SNAP food assistance is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It helps folks supplement their grocery bills, it helps folks get back on their feet, it helps them just that little extra amount to put food on the tables for themselves and their families.”
Just. Vote. Blue.
To read more about how the Koch brothers (David died in 2019), under the guise of AFP (Americans for Prosperity) have lobbied across the country to break up unions, stymieing the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (and especially the expansion of Medicaid to poor uninsured adults) in states like Missouri and Tennessee, rolling back state efforts to address climate change (for instance, in Kansas and West Virginia), and passing massive tax cuts for wealthy individuals and companies (as in Kansas and Oklahoma), check out this article in the Guardian.
And for my Arizona friends, I hope to see some of you this Thursday at the House of Bards on Speedway for a night of music written by Nancy McCallion, along with some rousing Irish covers. Joining Nancy (guitar and vocals) will be Heather Hardy on violin, Danny Krieger on guitar, Neil McCallion on bass, and me on drums. It’s a nice and early gig - we kick at 6:30!
I wrote a bit about my travels with Nancy during the Mollys days, when we were touring maniacs, last June. You can check that post out here.
And now…
One thing I have a hard time understanding is how the Koch outfit can so blatantly spend big money to prevent those in need from getting help, and rank and file folks just go along with it, state legislators and those who vote for them. I guess part of the trick is more exposure, so thanks for writing about it and for the link.