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Lunchtime rundown: Speaker Thompson to resign, Congress considers cuts to SNAP

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Nothing better than walking into the office and finding some big, breaking news waiting for you. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced this morning he would appoint House Speaker Rick Thompson, D-Wayne, as Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Veterans Assistance when current secretary Keith Gwinn leaves that post next month over medical concerns.

That means Thompson will have to resign from the House of Delegates, where he’s served since 2000. That also means there’s a wide-open race for Speaker of the House among Democrat delegates, and several have already thrown their hats into the ring. Del. Harry Keith White, D-Mingo, Del. Don Perdue, D-Wayne, Del. Doug Skaff, D-Kanawha, Del. Brent Boggs, D-Braxton and Del. Tim Miley, D-Harrison, all said Thursday morning they are interested in Thompson’s current job.

Tomblin will have to call a special session of the House of Delegates to pick a new speaker within 10 days of Thompson’s departure. Click here to read Dave’s story about the switcheroo.

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In other news, the U.S. House agriculture committee is considering drastic cuts to the federal SNAP program, more commonly known as food stamps. The House plan calls for $20 billion cuts to the program, which would cut 1.8 million people nationwide from the program, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

SNAP is a big deal in West Virginia. Nearly 1 in 5 state residents is enrolled in the assistance program, about 349,853 West Virginians in all.

It’s not clear how many state SNAP recipients would be affected by the cuts — a Congressional Budget Office spokeswoman told me the group did not perform a state-by-state breakdown of the figures — but Rep. Shelley Moore Capito said she supports trimming the size of SNAP.

“SNAP has grown by about $46 billion over the past six years. With an almost $17 trillion debt, I believe that reductions could be made. Congress should focus spending on those who are most in need and make sure that all persons receiving benefits are eligible to receive them,” she said.

Click here to read my full story. And before you go, sign up for our weekly newsletter. The next edition comes out tomorrow morning.


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