Kansas legislators should advocate for and create laws to help their constituents. They aren't.
By now, we probably all know the Kansas state motto: Ad astra per aspera, which translates from Latin to “to the stars, through difficulties.”
The Kansas Legislature should be recognized for taking at least a portion of the motto seriously because it seems, year after year, the Legislature continues to create more difficulties for hard-working Kansans across our state.
So when will legislators finally listen to Kansans and let us reach the stars?
Kansas is the breadbasket whose foundation is built on feeding the world. Until our elected officials choose to end hunger, our food system will continue to be broken and our state will never thrive. Time and time again, our elected officials remind us that hunger is a political decision.
SNAP food assistance is one of the most effective ways to put more food on the table for Kansans and their loved ones. In fact, for every meal provided by a food bank, SNAP food assistance provides nine. Food banks and the charitable sector alone cannot meet the overwhelming needs of Kansans experiencing hunger.
Despite the critical support SNAP provides, the Kansas House voted overwhelmingly on party lines to override the governor’s veto of Senate Substitute for House Bill 2448 by an 86-36 margin. This bill will increase hardship by subjecting Kansans who are considered able-bodied without dependents to 30 hours per week of involuntary employment and training programs, tacking on even more hurdles for Kansans who may just need a month or two to get back on their feet.
How did this happen?
Over the past few weeks, hundreds of Kansans, food banks and pantries, and community organizations worked hard to demand legislators vote "no" on the anti-poor legislation. Though there was immense opposition to the bill, Kansas legislators continued forth with their political agenda with zero regard to how it would hurt their constituents.
Our communities deserve legislators who work for and think the best of their constituents. It is becoming clearer that too many legislators believe their fellow Kansans are unwilling to work and are looking for handouts when that is far from the case. Instead of representing their communities, Kansas lawmakers would rather represent Florida dark-money organizations like Opportunity Solutions Project, the main proponent of Senate Substitute for House Bill 2448.
Once again, House leadership used bullying and intimidation to ensure that Kansas legislators put party politics and political gamesmanship above their constituents.
As Kansans, we send legislators to Topeka in the hopes that they will listen to their constituents and fight for what they need. Instead, legislators are more interested in amplifying harmful policies and the will of disconnected, out-of-state interest groups. What’s even more disheartening is that further cuts to SNAP food assistance are one of seemingly countless attacks our communities have been blown during this legislative session.
As one of the most important programs in the nation, SNAP food assistance should be strengthened, not stripped bare of its success. It is cruel to force Kansans to continue to struggle when our state has the tools to bolster SNAP and significantly reduce hunger.
Our legislative representatives should be there for our communities. Instead, they stab Kansans in the back.
If legislators’ disregard for their constituents continues, Kansas should probably change its state motto to a more fitting Latin phrase … "Et tu, Brute?"
Haley Kottler is the Thriving Campaign director at Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, a statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan policy advocacy organization dedicated to the belief that Kansans, working together, can build a more thriving, inclusive and just state.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Who is the Kansas Legislature fighting for if not their constituents?
