USDA Tells Walker: Don’t Privatize Food Assistance Program!

May 02, 2011

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) doesn’t know when to stop overstepping his bounds, legal or otherwise. First, he took away collective bargaining rights from 200,000 public service workers, disregarding the fact that most Americans support collective bargaining. Now, the federal government says Walker would violate the law with his plan to privatize the state’s FoodShare program, which distributes more than $1 billion a year in food assistance to low-income residents.

Walker’s state budget plan would take away the job of county governments to interview applicants for FoodShare assistance. But Ollice Holden, a Midwest administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, warned that Walker’s proposal must be handled by public service workers. Otherwise, the state could lose federal funding to support the program.

Holden’s April 14 letter to state officials is cited in this Journal Sentinel story. The story also quotes U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who also advises against privatization. Vilsack noted:

“Recent state agency privatization initiatives in Texas and Indiana have been complete failures, marked by technical difficulties, staffing shortages, and inadequate training of private call-center staff and resulting in adverse impacts on the state and its people.”

When it comes to listening to the public, Walker obviously has his ear plugs firmly attached. But we’re assuming he can still read.