My name is Amanda Cosgrove and I firmly believe that government benefits should be handed to people whom really do need the support.  There are many issues facing the Food Stamp program in America. I believe that there should be stricter on the application process:

 “Food stamps are for U.S. citizens and eligible noncitizens with limited incomes that buy food and make meals at home. People living in homeless shelters, group homes for the disabled, drug and alcohol treatment centers, and subsidized elderly housing are also eligible. Some people must work to qualify for food stamps, while others are exempt from the work requirement.”

I want people to be aware of where our government money is going towards and are some people taking advantage of their benefits? Should people be allowed to use EBT cards to buy lottery tickets and cigarettes? Issues such as these is what I want to address and bring awareness to where some of our tax dollars are going. 

http://www.roundupweb.com/story/2012/01/25/opinion/food-stamp-controversy/012420121333385328067.html

         My name is Alanna Antonelli and I believe food stamps are a crucial form of aid for many people living in the United States.  Without this aid, many adults and children would go hungry.  In a world full of starving people, it is lucky that we as Americans have the option to get this help.  However, in today’s day and age, anyone can apply for this federal aid, but not everyone uses it for the right reasons.  Some people fraudulently receive food stamps. They may use these to buy food, then use the money they saved to buy other things they do not need - new TVs, six top of the line cell phones, even drugs which is the most alarming.  Because of this, many states require a drug test be administered, and I agree with this.  While the honest people receiving aid may find this as an annoyance and possibly be insulted, it will weed out those who are using the food stamps unjustly and for negative reasons, therefore increasing the amount of aid available to those honest people.

Hi there, my name is Julia and I believe that there should be better control over the food stamps program in the United States. There have been talks about drug testing in some of the states to be one of the processes to be eligible to receive food stamps, and I think this is a great idea. I think it should have been put in place during welfare reform in 1996.  

In 2009, more than twenty states recommended legislation that would call for drug testing as one of the conditions for eligibility for these public assistance programs. A year later, twelve more states joined the bandwagon. Of course, these proposals were never made into law, because it was believed that drug testing, without a reason to believe that the person was actually using drugs, was unconstitutional. (Massachusetts was not part of those proposals.)

There are seven states that currently have enacted some type of stipulation to receive government aid, but it is far from where it needs to be. I know of people who take part in illegal drug activity and receive government assistance, and I think this is absolutely ridiculous. I see abuse of EBT cards and have credible witnesses that prove that the government is far too lenient when it comes to who is getting this government aid. 

Hi everyone, my name is Alexa Reinhardt. I believe that the issue if food stamps in America has become a very hot topic in recent years. There are very many components to the issue and these make it difficult to pick a side. I do believe that food stamps are important; they give aid to those that would otherwise starve. On the other hand, I do feel like there needs to better control with food stamps. I believe that food stamps should be an aid, but not a crutch. Too many people rely on this form of help from the government without trying to make life improvements. Many people "use" the government; taking advantage of the help. I truly believe that a step to improve the food stamp issue in our country is to make drug testing mandatory. I think it is important that we make sure that those who are using food stamps, are also taking care of themselves.