'Stop eating the Cheetos': Republican says veterans must 'contribute' to get food stamps

Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) has a warning for veterans: you'll have to "contribute" to society if you need food assistance.

As part of their many economic proposals for how to pay for President Donald Trump's tax, border, and energy agenda, Republicans have introduced a bill called the America Works Act, which would toughen work requirements on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, commonly known as food stamps.

SNAP already has work requirements for able-bodied adults between 18 and 54; however, this new bill would eliminate exceptions for veterans and young adults aging out of foster care — exceptions that were passed in 2023 as part of the debt ceiling package — and further expand the requirement to adults aged 55 to 65.

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Speaking to Fox Business on Wednesday, Fallon, a Trump loyalist who has been accused of illegally failing to disclose millions in stock trades, laid down his case for the new restrictions on SNAP.

"We have a message for those kind of folks: If you're able-bodied and you want to milk the taxpayer, those days are over," said Fallon. "Get off the couch, stop eating the Cheetos, stop buying the medical marijuana and watching television. You're actually gonna contribute now."

Fallon's comments drew swift anger from some commenters on social media.

"Imagine pretending to serve Americans and hating people you serve based purely on your racist bulls---," wrote Fred Wellman, a Democratic strategist and webcaster for VoteVets. "What a piece of s---...only more of a piece of s--- because he's a f---ing veteran that went to Notre Dame on a football scholarship."

All of this comes as Republicans also included, as part of their broader budget blueprint, a plan to cut up to $800 billion from Medicaid, a provision that even has some Republican state officials warning it goes too far.

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