MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Interview

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SCHULTZ: Well, quite an interesting week in Washington when it comes to food. One Republican finding to cut food stamps is Texas Congressman Steve Stockman. Remember the name? Yes, good buddy of Ted Nugent. He`s the guy that god Nugent in the State of the Union.

Stockman communication director, Donny Ferguson, he took the SNAP challenge in response to 26 Democrats living on the SNAP budget. Ferguson says he spent less than the allotted money and claimed he`s even gained weight from the food. Well, guess what, we have exactly here on the Ed set what this guy bought. Oh, it`s just great food, isn`t it? This is how you live on food stamps.

Let`s see here, he got cookies, sugary cereal, no value whatsoever when it comes to nutrition. You`ve got rice and beans, peanut butter and jelly. Sounds good, but, almost double the daily calorie intake for an adult, more than double the amount of sodium intake. May I point out on this desk -- no fresh vegetables, no chicken, no meat, very little protein, fatty foods, processed foods, subsidized foods, preservatives, corn syrup -- everything that makes America fat. Here`s your farm bill, folks, right here. Here`s the food stamp program.

Now, some of the congressional members are complaining that there might be some king crab legs that might make it through the checkers aisle at the grocery store.

I wish that was the case. What we need to do is increase the food stamp program so they don`t end up with stuff like this that make Americans fat. Why don`t they have a kind of a program that pushes forward for fresh vegetables? Pushes forward for poultry and meat and real protein that helps kids get nourished. That`s where we need to be focusing. But, you see, big conglomerates have taken care of that through their lobbyists to make sure they get subsidized to do this kind of stuff: 3,500 calories? No. That`s not where America wants to go. Joining me now is Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota. Congressman Ellison is one of the Democrats taking part in the SNAP challenge.

Keith, good to have you with us tonight.Congressman, how is it going for you on this? Is it a feasible diet in any stretch of the imagination for Americans?

REP. KEITH ELLISON (D), MINNESOTA: Look, you can take the SNAP diet and eat enough food to make your belly feel like you`ve had a meal, but you can`t eat a nutritious, well-balanced diet that is going to enhance health and help you get stronger and better, and is particularly bad for a child. I mean, the truth is, is that the SNAP diet is not really a sustainable diet for anyone. And, so, for folks who want to cut SNAP even more, you know, in my opinion, this is just not acceptable.

SCHULTZ: Now, there are some things that he bought and this is whole wheat bread and milk. But the majority of it makes America fat. The majority of it is subsidized.

ELLISON: Empty calories.

SCHULTZ: And it`s the priority of it all is not good. Would you agree?

ELLISON: Absolutely agree. It`s what you call empty calories. Calories, but there`s not much nutrition contained in those calories. And, so, you end up being not very healthy if you stay on that diet.

That`s why cutting food stamps is something we couldn`t stand for, not in the nation, that is the richest nation in the world and makes enough food for people to eat in a nutritious, well-balanced healthy way.

SCHULTZ: So, this is a principled vote on the farm bill by the Democrats. This to me is historic. The farm bill has always been hotly negotiated, but never a problem getting past. Everybody knows that, you know, you know, urban legislatures are going to come along with rural senators and see how important it is to keep producers on the land and to keep a food supply in America.

It`s -- but for us not to be able to get a farm bill, I think, speaks volumes about how broken Washington is. What`s going to happen now and a principled vote by the part of the Democrats to stand your ground on making sure food stamps don`t get cut. Where do we go from here?

ELLISON: Well, we`re going to go back to the drawing board. We`re going to try to come up with a sensible alternative. The fact is if they hadn`t had the cuts, we may have been able to get closer to what makes some sense, but they did have them. And they insisted upon them and the heritage institute actually was whipping against it, as well. So, they lost about 60 Republicans on the bill.

But, you know, they really lost the bulk of the Dems. So, I think they have to come more our way if they want to get a farm bill. We do need a farm bill.

You know, I come from an ag state. Minnesota is an agricultural state and I`d like to see a farm bill. But I`m not going to tolerate a bill with this draconian SNAP cuts together, with nothing really on renewable energy. And, so, the bill really was not adequate. Oh, but we keep the big subsidies for big ag.

SCHULTZ: Exactly. So, what we`re seeing in the farm bill is that the Republicans our protecting the wealthiest, protecting the conglomerates, protecting the corporations and going after the poor.

That`s what they`re doing. They`re going after the poor. Oh, my God, food stamp, that`s why we`re having such a financial issue in this country.

ELLISON: Right.

SCHULTZ: Great to have you with us, Keith.

ELLISON: Thanks a lot, Ed. You take care.

SCHULTZ: Keith Ellison from Minnesota, you bet. Coming up --

ELLISON: A shout-out to Netroots Nation.

SCHULTZ: You bet.

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