[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 26, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            LEGISLATION REDUCING RELIANCE ON GOVERNMENT AID

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                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 26, 1994

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation that 
I hope will eventually end the increasing reliance of some of our 
Nation's military personnel on food stamps and other Government aid 
programs.
  According to the Department of Defense, more than 17,000 members of 
the U.S. Armed Forces currently depend on food stamps to feed 
themselves and their families, and two to three times that qualify for 
the aid but do not accept it. Last year, $27.4 million in food stamps 
was redeemed at military commissaries nationwide, up from $24 million 
in 1992.
  The time has come for Congress to take a serious look at how it 
compensates the defenders of this Nation and to make a serious 
commitment to keeping our service men and women above the poverty line 
and off welfare.
  The simple fact is that when someone agrees to wear our country's 
uniform, lying awake at night wondering how they'll ever be able to 
provide for their families shouldn't be part of the deal.
  We need to show the men and women of our Armed Forces that we care 
enough to provide them with a decent life, a dignified life. We need to 
do something to ensure that they no longer have to salute with their 
hands outstretched.
  This bill would create a 16-member national commission to review the 
compensation of service members and suggest new strategies to end their 
increasing dependence on Federal and local assistance programs. Once 
empaneled, the broad-based group would have 180 days to complete its 
work and would submit to the Congress and the President a report from 
which substantive changes could be made.
  I am hopeful that my colleagues will support this effort. We could 
certainly choose to do nothing and watch the statistics continue to 
roll in, each set of numbers only further confirming our failure to 
adequately compensate a group of people we expect to be ready at a 
moment's notice to take care of all of us.

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