Republicans have been consistently chipping away at the availability of food stamps and government services for those in need but a new interactive map from TIME shows that their constituents are more likely to require government assistance.
The irony of the situation is that in September, all but 15 House Republicans voted to cut $40 billion from the federal food-stamp program. Just two months prior to the introduction of the $40 billion cut, Republicans had proposed to cut $20.5 billion from the program. It seems there are few things that the Right dislikes more than their own constituents. How else could it justify taking actions that so directly and so negatively affect the people they are supposed to be representing?
TIME found in its analysis that of the 350 districts it was able to perform its analysis on, 76 of the districts had enrollment rates into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at or above 20% and that well over half of those districts above 20% were held by Republicans.
The SNAP program repeatedly appears on the Republican chopping block. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill currently making its way through the House will, on average, result in a decrease of about $90 a month for almost 850,000 households.
Of the over 47 million people that receive SNAP supplements, over 50% are either children or elderly individuals 60 years or older and their representatives, the ones seeking to reduce their benefits, seem completely out of touch with their needs.
Joshua is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. You can follow him on Twitter @Joshual33.
