U.S. Rep. Gonzalez Condemns Taiwan’s Removal from PARLACEN

U.S. Representative Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) recently condemned Taiwan’s removal from the Central American organization PARLACEN.

PARLACEN is a six-nation parliament consisting of Central American countries including the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

The parliament expelled Taiwan after the idea was proposed that they add China in place of the now-expelled country.

China claims to own the nation of Taiwan. Furthermore, PARLACEN used a United Nations ruling in which Taiwan was expelled in favor of China because it was deemed to not be independent of China to validate its decision.

The highly populous nation has a major influence in Central America, possibly a reason for its acceptance into PARLACEN.

Rep. Casar stated his support for democracy and displeasure with the parliament’s decision to expel Taiwan.

“We must ensure democracy is always the path forward and support our allies in this endeavor. Taiwan's recent removal from PARLACEN as a permanent observer and the subsequent addition of the CCP is a step in the wrong direction.”

In other news, Democratic representatives wrote a letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) expressing concern for the status of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“We are writing today to express our concerns about continued comments from your leadership team that could jeopardize the consideration and passage of a bipartisan farm bill in the House,” reads the statement.

The letter warns of the harmful effects of meddling with the program.

“You have seen what happens when leadership gets involved in dictating the details of the farm bill, particularly when the issue involved is SNAP, the safety net for America’s working poor and elderly.”

Previous iterations of the Farm Bill were affected by the differences across party lines. 

The letter further emphasizes the importance of the program for farmers and ranchers.

“The failures of the 2014 and 2018 House versions of the farm bill their first time up for consideration caused a great deal of anxiety in rural America. That should be enough of a reminder to you that playing partisan SNAP politics does nothing to address the needs of our farm and ranch families who depend on the other components of the farm bill, whether it’s the farm safety net, conservation, trade or other titles.”

“We all asked to be on the House Agriculture Committee because we value its bipartisan nature, which has traditionally been the key to the Committee’s success in getting farm bills done. And we have been heartened by Chairman Thompson’s comments to date about the bill being bipartisan and not going after SNAP,” continues the statement.

The letter requests that the bill is not tampered with, but instead left to the members of the committee.

“As we work on the 2023 Farm Bill, we would ask that you continue to honor that tradition by letting the Committee work its will, and then respect the product that comes out of our process later this Fall.”

“The continued threat of making additional changes to SNAP eligibility or benefits is not helpful and even undermines Chairman Thompson as he works with his Democratic and Republican membership to bring a bipartisan farm bill out of the Agriculture Committee.”

“Our nation’s hungry and those who grow their food deserve a bipartisan farm bill to address their needs.”