The United States House of Representatives will vote Thursday whether to cut 3.8 million people from food stamps next year according to CNN Money.
If passed, the bill would cut $40 billion from food stamps over the next 10 years therefore eliminating 14 million people from the program by 2023 according to the nonpartisan congressional budget office CNN Money reported.
"In the richest country in the world, 1 in 6 people are in danger of going to bed hungry tonight, and half of those people are children. But despite these sobering numbers -- and despite the difficult economic times -- House Republicans... are determined to gut the nutrition assistance program," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday.
The legislation calls for stricter rules for gaining admittance into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which has seen a significant increase in enrollment with today's economy; 47.6 million people or nearly 15 percent of the population receive food stamps. This is based off of federal data from this month.
The numbers are more than those in 2007 when only 26.3 million or 8.7 percent of the population in the United States received food stamps. Each month, each person gets an average of $133.19.
According to CNN Money, the Obama administration said it would veto the bill, which takes five percent from the food stamps budget. Democrats said the bill will not do well in their chamber.
Republicans in the house claim their legislation helps to limit people who should not be receiving food stamps by sealing up loopholes which have reportedly allowed people who have income above eligibility standards into the program according to a memo from Office of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, CNN Money reported.
The vote count was unclear early Thursday afternoon as House Democrats were not in favor of the bill and some Republicans who represent rural areas had questions about it.
