Food Stamps

Representative Markwayne Mullin recently shared his story of concern regarding food stamps while he was at a town hall meeting in Welch, Oklahoma. According to a story shared in a video of the meeting from ThinkProgress, Mullin says that he was shopping for groceries at a store in Crystal City, Virginia when he noticed something significantly bothersome. “Every lane was open and it was backed up and I noticed everybody was giving that card,” he said, referring to the usage of EBT cards for food stamps. He went on to say that everyone had baskets full of food and that he realized it was the first of the month. For those who are in Virginia, food stamp benefits are automatically deposited on the first of the month for those who have case numbers ending in zero, one, two, and three.

As Mullin continued his story, he soon revealed why the experience had bothered him so much. “But then I’m looking over, and there’s a couple beside me. This guy was built like a brick house. I mean he had muscles all over him. He was in a little tank top and pair of shorts and really nice Nike shoes. And she was standing there, and she was all in shape and she looked like she had just come from a fitness program. She was in the spandex, and you know, they were both physically fit. And they go up in front of me and they pay with that card.” Mullin then went on to say that he had just seen food stamp fraud.

Nearly 47 million Americans receive benefits from the food stamp program. Most of the people who receive benefits are disabled, elderly, or children. Republicans in the House of Representatives are trying to cut the spending down on the program by $4 billion per year, or 5 percent. Although food stamp applicants must meet the poverty levels in order to be part of the program, there’s no requirement about what their physical fitness status should be. Mullin’s office didn’t respond to requests for additional information about the supposed fraud that Mullin claimed he had witness.

Mullin has already gained a lot of attention from the controversial statements that he has recently said about the President, namely when he suggested that Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States. “Who would’ve thought we would ever actually be questioning if we had a natural-born president being president?” he said. “That point was made and people still elected him to be president.” Mullins is quoted as saying.

Although there have been stories and incidents of fraud within the food stamp program, most authorities and the state government within states throughout the country have been actively working to prevent these issues. Food stamp fraud has been greatly reducing within the past few months as a resort of additional actions being taken to ensure that benefits go to those who need them the most.