Rick Brattin

Rick Brattin
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
from the 55th district
Personal details
Born July 1980
Political party Republican
Profession Politician
Website rickbrattin.org

Rick Brattin (born 1980) is a state representative from the U.S. state of Missouri currently serving his third term in the Missouri House of Representatives. He represents Missouri's 55th Legislative District, which encompasses several suburbs of Kansas City in Cass County including Raymore, Peculiar, and Lake Winnebago. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is currently Vice Chairman of the Corrections and Consumer Affairs committees.

Personal

Brattin was raised in Greenwood, Missouri. He is a graduate of Lee's Summit High School. After the September 11 attacks, he joined the United States Marine Corps. He rose through the ranks and became a sergeant after 6 years.

He is married to Athena and has five children.[1]

"Missouri Standard Science Act"

In 2013, Brattin sponsored legislation that would afford equal treatment in textbooks for intelligent design and evolution[2]

Abortion Legislation

In December 2014, Brattin proposed legislation that would require women seeking abortions in Missouri to obtain written consent from the father of the fetus, except in cases of "legitimate rape."[3] Brattin cited his own recent vasectomy as his inspiration for the legislation.[4]

Supplemental Nutrition Restrictions

In February 2015, Brattin introduced Missouri House Bill 813,[5] reading "A recipient of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits shall not use such benefits to purchase cookies, chips, energy drinks, soft drinks, seafood, or steak." [6]

Brattin sponsored the bill in part because he believed the benefits were excessive. Using a personal example, he explained that he would receive $1,000 per month if his family of seven qualified for the program. “I couldn’t dream of spending that much money per month,” he explained. “I would have to just go through and just start throwing stuff in the cart.”[7] Under his example, each of his family members would be limited to $4.69 of food per day, a feat many consider impossible. Brattin also failed to mention that the overwhelming majority of food stamp recipients do not receive the maximum amount. A single mother of two making $18,000 a year would only qualify for around $300 a month in food stamp assistance in Missouri, far lower than Brattin's "zero income" example.

References

  1. ↑ Cheryl Chumley, Missouri politico pushes law to make women get men’s OK for abortion, Washington Times http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/18/rick-brattin-pushes-law-to-force-men-OK-abort/
  2. ↑ http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/02/intelligent-design-missouri-evolution
  3. ↑ Jones, Molly. This GOP Lawmaker Wants a Woman to Get Permission From the Father Before Having an Abortion http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/12/republican-wants-women-get-permission-father-having-abortion
  4. ↑ http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/12/republican-wants-women-get-permission-father-having-abortion
  5. ↑ http://www.house.mo.gov/billsummary.aspx?bill=HB813&year=2015&code=R
  6. ↑ http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills151/billpdf/intro/HB0813I.PDF
  7. ↑ http://www.westernjournalism.com/missouri-republican-proposes-strict-new-regulations-curb-food-stamp-fraud/#4bPZ1xOLbXH6zpHu.99

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.