Inside the Florida nonprofit pushing to slash food stamp rolls nationwide

[Wicked Blue]

NBC News

By J.J. McCorvey

“We’ve been hiding in plain sight all along,” Tarren Bragdon said of his 12-year-old nonprofit, the Foundation for Government Accountability.

The Naples, Florida-based think tank has been publicly cheerleading GOP efforts to tighten work requirements for food stamps and Medicaid as part of high-wire debt ceiling talks in Washington. But without the clout or funding of major conservative K Street institutions that also support shrinking the federal safety net, the FGA has largely pursued a state-level strategy that has been quietly racking up wins.

As a result, low-income Americans in many states face narrowing access to key benefits programs, regardless of whether the curbs House Republicans passed in their debt ceiling bill last month wind up in a final deal with Democrats and the White House.

In recent interviews, half a dozen hunger relief groups across the country named the FGA as their top adversary in an escalating policy fight over safety net benefits, citing the group more frequently than any other. One aid organization feared drawing attention to its efforts, worried about triggering an FGA lobbying blitz to curb food stamp payments in its home state.

More:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/foundation-government-accountability-debt-ceiling-food-stamps-snap-rcna81369

[gratuitous]

1. Coming soon to a state near you

Pop quiz for the FGA supporting hot shots: What percentage of SNAP recipients have a job:

A. 5%
B. 22%
C. 48%
D. 70%

These yahoos think the United States shouldn't feed, clothe or house its citizens. The money in the Treasury is only for people who have more money than they can spend in 10 lifetimes, doled out in the form of tax cuts for wealthy, financed by the poorest.

[dalton99a]

2. The Koch whore Tarren Bragdon:

[Meadowoak]

3. D

[EleanorR]

4. This is the same group pushing to rewrite child labor laws

When Iowa lawmakers voted in mid-April to roll back certain child labor protections, they blended into a growing movement driven largely by a conservative advocacy group.

At 4:52 a.m. on April 18, the state’s Senate approved a bill to allow children as young as 14 to work night shifts and 15-year-olds on assembly lines. The measure, which still must pass the Iowa House, is among several the Foundation for Government Accountability is maneuvering through state legislatures.

The Florida-based think tank and its lobbying arm, the Opportunity Solutions Project, have found remarkable success among Republicans to relax regulations that prevent children from working long hours in dangerous conditions. And they are gaining traction at a time the Biden administration is scrambling to enforce existing labor protections for children.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/04/23/child-labor-lobbying-fga/

[dalton99a]

5. Yep.

[Solly Mack]

6. K&R

[Firestorm49]

7. Yeah but...... but......how about taking money for those in need and

passing it up the line to the top 1%? I know their pedigree lives are difficult and they need all the help they can get. (sarcasm) - added to shield me from those who like to attack.