Search
Contact Nancy
Stay Informed
Congress On Your Corner
Photo Gallery
Where's Nancy
Veterans History Project
Fram Nancy's Desk
  |
Supporting the Food Stamps Program
Madam Speaker,
While I was home in Kansas over the recent Congressional recess, I joined a community dialogue on hunger hosted by Kansas Action for Children. Participants shared their experiences with the federal Food Stamp Program, and I was deeply moved by their stories. Because Congress will soon debate the future of Food Stamps, I want to share what I heard with my colleagues.
In these marble halls and in our well-appointed offices, it is hard to imagine that any American family could struggle to afford food – but so many do. The USDA says that some 25 million Americans, including 327,000 Kansans, are food insecure.
Their experiences are heartbreaking. At the recess event in Kansas, I heard of one little girl who always looks forward to Halloween, because that is the only night of the year when she enough food to eat. That same girl once came home hungry, searched for food in her kitchen cabinets, and found only a bottle of vinegar. She drank it and, of course, became very ill.
As a decent and ethical society, we should not permit these tales of hunger to unfold around us. But there are more reasons to support the Food Stamp program than just the moral. Food Stamps boost our farmers, ranchers, and local grocery stores. Food Stamps improve the health of young children, who might otherwise suffer severe malnutrition. And Food Stamps benefit our schools, because students who arrive at school hungry cannot hope to learn to read or write.
Despite the critical importance of Food Stamps, the executive branch has proposed to cut the program by $611 million in the next five years. I am deeply concerned by this plan. Today’s Food Stamp benefits barely pay the cost of food, averaging only a dollar per meal, and they cover only the families in greatest need. Funding cuts would severely harm America’s hungry.
Instead of slashing Food Stamps, we should explore ways to modestly, intelligently grow the program. I will work in the Agriculture Committee to fund a modest Food Stamp expansion in order to support more American families who live on the verge of food insecurity. I also encourage this Congress to require a portion of Food Stamp benefits to be spent on healthy, nutritious foods, like fruits and vegetables.
If we work together, we can reduce the toll of hunger on our nation and improve the health of our low-income families. We owe nothing less to the millions of American who don’t know today whether they’ll have food on their tables tonight.
I yield back the balance of my time.
While I was home in Kansas over the recent Congressional recess, I joined a community dialogue on hunger hosted by Kansas Action for Children. Participants shared their experiences with the federal Food Stamp Program, and I was deeply moved by their stories. Because Congress will soon debate the future of Food Stamps, I want to share what I heard with my colleagues.
In these marble halls and in our well-appointed offices, it is hard to imagine that any American family could struggle to afford food – but so many do. The USDA says that some 25 million Americans, including 327,000 Kansans, are food insecure.
Their experiences are heartbreaking. At the recess event in Kansas, I heard of one little girl who always looks forward to Halloween, because that is the only night of the year when she enough food to eat. That same girl once came home hungry, searched for food in her kitchen cabinets, and found only a bottle of vinegar. She drank it and, of course, became very ill.
As a decent and ethical society, we should not permit these tales of hunger to unfold around us. But there are more reasons to support the Food Stamp program than just the moral. Food Stamps boost our farmers, ranchers, and local grocery stores. Food Stamps improve the health of young children, who might otherwise suffer severe malnutrition. And Food Stamps benefit our schools, because students who arrive at school hungry cannot hope to learn to read or write.
Despite the critical importance of Food Stamps, the executive branch has proposed to cut the program by $611 million in the next five years. I am deeply concerned by this plan. Today’s Food Stamp benefits barely pay the cost of food, averaging only a dollar per meal, and they cover only the families in greatest need. Funding cuts would severely harm America’s hungry.
Instead of slashing Food Stamps, we should explore ways to modestly, intelligently grow the program. I will work in the Agriculture Committee to fund a modest Food Stamp expansion in order to support more American families who live on the verge of food insecurity. I also encourage this Congress to require a portion of Food Stamp benefits to be spent on healthy, nutritious foods, like fruits and vegetables.
If we work together, we can reduce the toll of hunger on our nation and improve the health of our low-income families. We owe nothing less to the millions of American who don’t know today whether they’ll have food on their tables tonight.
I yield back the balance of my time.