GOP Cuts to Food Assistance Equal One Day of Bush Tax Cuts
According to ThinkProgress, House Republicans' 2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill would cut $38 million from the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, $63 million from the Emergency Food Assistance Program and more than $800 million from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children; according to the Center for American Progress, these cuts are equivalent to the cost of extending the Bush tax cuts for top earners for one day. The GOP's proposed cuts of $101 million total would see more than 100,000 low-income seniors losing access to home-delivered nutritious food programs and thousands of food banks no longer having the necessary assistance to provide for struggling families – while a one-day extension of Bush tax cuts costs $120 million, as approximately 321,000 households in the country report incomes of more than $1 million.
Robert Gates Could End “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” Before Retiring
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he would endorse ending “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” before he leaves the Pentagon later this month, The Washington Post writes. The policy preventing gays from serving openly in the military is set to be repealed once President Barack Obama certifies with Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen that the military is ready for the ban to be lifted. “I think people are pretty satisfied with the way this process is going,” Gates said.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Walker's Anti-Union Bill
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin has upheld a law that takes away the collective bargaining rights of public-sector employees and will take effect on June 29, MSNBC reports. In a 4-3 vote, the court ruled that Judge Maryann Sumi overstepped her authority when she struck down Gov. Scott Walker's plan last month on the grounds that the state Republicans had violated Wisconsin's open meetings law. “The doors of the Senate and Assembly were kept open to the press and members of the public … access was not denied,” the majority opinion stated. Walker said the law was necessary to address the state's $3.6 billion deficit.
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