Impeachment, Food Stamps and Kamala harris
Ellen, Annie and Nicholas break down the news
Impeachment Inquiry
by Ellen Yandel
The impeachment inquiry moved from the House Intelligence Committee to the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday with the release of Democratic and Republican reports on the inquiry.
The Democratic report argues that President Trump abused his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Biden family and that he obstructed the impeachment inquiry by blocking witnesses and documents from Congress. The Republican report claims that Trump’s actions in Ukraine were based on “genuine and reasonable” skepticism of corruption and concluded there is no clear evidence demonstrating Trump committed an impeachable offense: bribery, treason or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
The House Judiciary Committee will be in charge of drafting articles of impeachment after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the committee will proceed with the process. The announcement came Thursday, in light of a hearing held the day before, in which three of four law professors present claimed that Trump’s conduct merited impeachment.
The Trump administration said it will not participate in impeachment hearings.
Food Stamps
by Nicholas Chen
On Wednesday, the Trump administration approved a rule from the Department of Agriculture which will limit how states waive certain work requirements for people receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The rule, which could remove almost 700,000 people from the program, specifically affects states’ ability to waive the work requirement for able-bodied adults without children in areas with an unemployment rate over 10% or with few jobs. Anyone in an unwaived area has to meet the regular requirement for able-bodied adults without dependents — 80 hours of work or training per month — or face a limit of reliance on SNAP to three months within a three-year period .
The department’s reasoning for the limit is the low national unemployment rate, a want to deemphasize reliance on the program and the claim that states have grouped areas considered for the waiver in a way that maximizes eligibility — claiming that states were able to waive areas with unemployment far below 10% by grouping them with populated areas with high unemployment.
Critics say that the move ignores the situation of many in poverty, like the homeless or those who have jobs that may not offer enough hours to meet the requirement. This follows a change in Cook County’s requirements, as it became only the second county in Illinois to not qualify for the waiver — Dupage County being the first with an unemployment rate under 10%.
Kamala Harris
by Annie Meyer
On Tuesday, Kamala Harris dropped out of the Democratic presidential race. This announcement comes amid voter frustration over her lack of a clear stance on health care, reports of discord among her staff and the entrance of billionaire Michael Bloomberg to the race. Harris, who was once seen as one of the strongest candidates in the crowded field, said that her campaign “simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.” Harris’s campaign lost significant momentum in the past month and was struggling to pull in enough donations and supporters to continue to justify operations. Her departure marks the beginning of a fierce competition between the remaining candidates to win over her donors and supporters.