U.S. Rep Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi) unleashed a sharp critique of President Donald Trump’s policies and administration during an address to the Mississippi Association of Supervisors’ Minority Caucus on Wednesday morning at the Trotter Convention Center.
The Minority Caucus, which has 142 members from 70 counties, is holding an annual education conference in Columbus. The conference started Tuesday and will conclude today.
Thompson, who represents Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District, said cuts in Trump’s proposed budget include severe slashes to agencies, such as the United States Department of Agriculture, that Mississippians rely on. The USDA is facing a 21-percent, $4.7 billion, cut under Trump’s proposed budget.
“Every county in Mississippi participates in some form of USDA program,” Thompson said. “The majority of our schools are on free and reduced meals for children at schools — that’s a USDA program.
“The (Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program), which used to be called the food stamp program, is also involved in that,” Thompson added. “So, we have a lot at risk in our communities.”
Thompson, a former Hinds County supervisor, said Mississippi faces challenges going forward that could be compounded by the Trump Administration’s proposed budget cuts.
For example, Trump’s proposed budget also guts organizations such as the Appalachian Regional Commission, which provides economic development and quality of life assistance grants to northeast Mississippi — including the Golden Triangle. The budget also targets the Delta Regional Authority, which provides the similar services to many west Mississippi counties.
Trump’s budget also eliminates funding for the Community Development Block Grant program, which provides funding for a variety needs, from Meals on Wheels to low-income housing and infrastructure programs. It eliminates federal funding for the national endowments for the arts and humanities, which Thompson said play a critical role in helping to fund cultural activities at Mississippi’s universities.
Should the budget cuts go through, Thompson said, it will be on local supervisors to find ways to grapple with the fallout.
“Everything in here that gets cut is gonna end up on your doorstep,” Thompson said. “The hungry — they’re not gonna end up on the doorstep of Congress. The poor schools — they’re gonna end up on the doorstep of the supervisors.”
Orlando Trainer, president of the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors, attended Wednesday’s conference session. Trainer, speaking to The Dispatch Wednesday afternoon, said he felt Oktibbeha County could face some of the difficult choices to which Thompson alluded.
As Trainer sees it, if the Trump cuts make it through the budget process, Oktibbeha County will have to consider raising taxes, cutting programs or some combination of the two.
Still, he expressed some optimism that Congress won’t allow the sharp proposed cuts to pass.
“I don’t think the members of Congress will have the appetite to kill key programs that help constituents,” Trainer said. “Mississippi could see the biggest impact because we’re already 50th or 49th in so many things, and those who are suffering already will feel the most.”
Trainer said it can be hard for government to make budget cuts because they’ll all affect somebody in some way.
“To somebody, everything we spend money on is important,” Trainer said. “To just cut everything and say this program is better than that program, that’s not effective.”
Thompson admonished the supervisors in attendance to consider how cuts they make on a local level, if needed, will impact their local communities. He pleaded they not make cuts that hurt the poor or elderly.
“You can’t cut senior citizens,” he said. “You can’t cut children. If you have to raise taxes to support education, you don’t have a choice. If you cut the education budget in your county, shame on you.”
Go-to guy
District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks, who helped organize the conference, said this week marks the first time Columbus has hosted the event.
“The interesting thing is a number of supervisors have said this is the best conference they’ve ever attended,” Brooks said. “They love the facilities at the Trotter and the city of Columbus. And you get not only supervisors, but sponsors and other people throughout the state who come to the community.”
Brooks said the people drawn to Columbus spend money, which helps the local economy. He added the educational conference also raises money for 15 $1,000 scholarships the caucus offers.
Brooks said his relationship with Thompson stretches back for more than 30 years. Getting him to the conference, he said, was just a matter of a “friend calling a friend.”
“The supervisors like him because, even though he represents a certain congressional district, most African Americans throughout the state contact him,” Brooks said. “He’s kind of the go-to guy and he’s involved throughout the state, and as a former supervisor he understands a lot of these dynamics.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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