[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 132 (Thursday, September 8, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H5970-H5971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            FOOD INSECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, every year the Department of Agriculture 
collects, analyzes, and releases a report detailing the amount of 
domestic food insecurity. Yesterday, USDA released this report. This 
may sound like a wonkish, policy-driven report, but it is one of the 
most important reports written and released by any Federal agency. 
Simply put, Mr. Speaker, this is a report about hunger in America.
  Our country is going through very difficult economic times; the most 
difficult since the Great Depression. One of the results of this 
recession has been an increase in hunger. Families who have lost their 
jobs or have seen their incomes reduced because of the economy have had 
a difficult time putting food on their tables. It's common to see 
families who once volunteered at or donated to local food pantries now 
stand in line for food from these very same nonprofit organizations. 
Unfortunately, these organizations have had difficulty meeting the 
demands they've faced over the past few years.
  The good news, I suppose, is that the new USDA report shows that 
fewer people were food insecure in 2010 than in 2009. The bad news is 
that there are still 48.8 million Americans who struggled to put food 
on their tables last year.
  Frankly, Mr. Speaker, these numbers are unacceptable. It's 
unconscionable that even one person in this country goes without food, 
let alone 48.8 million people. It breaks my heart that 16.2 million of 
these hungry people are children. That's almost a quarter of the total 
food insecure population.
  President Obama pledged to end childhood hunger by 2015. It's clear, 
barring some dramatic shifts in policy, he's not going to achieve that 
goal. I regret that very much; so should every elected Member of this 
Congress.

[[Page H5971]]

  While 48.8 million hungry Americans is a daunting figure, it's 
important to realize that these figures would be much worse if it 
weren't for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. 
Formerly known as Food Stamps, SNAP is a true safety net program that 
helps low-income individuals and families buy groceries. The added 
benefit of SNAP is that it is also an economic stimulus that benefits 
local economies. It's a simple concept--for every SNAP dollar spent, 
$1.84 goes into the economy.
  But despite what SNAP critics may claim, SNAP prevented millions of 
Americans from going without food. Without a doubt, yesterday's food 
insecurity numbers would have been much worse if it weren't for SNAP.
  Mr. Speaker, hunger is a political condition. We have the means to 
solve hunger if we muster the political will to do so. SNAP is a proven 
program, one that prevents hunger while stimulating the economy. It's 
for both the moral reason and the economic reason that any deficit 
reduction proposal considered by the Select Committee on Deficit 
Reduction--the so-called supercommittee--must not cut SNAP or do 
anything that increases hunger and poverty.
  Cutting SNAP or similar antihunger programs will increase hunger, an 
action which I believe is morally indefensible. That's why I will be 
circulating a letter urging the 12 members of the select committee not 
to approve any deficit reduction policies that will increase hunger or 
poverty in this country. I urge my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, 
to join with me in this important letter.
  A responsibility of government is to protect the most vulnerable 
people in our country while doing everything we can to ensure that we 
pass on the strongest country possible to our children and our 
grandchildren. Cutting SNAP, the program that literally prevents 
millions of Americans from going hungry, would be wrong. And 
collectively, we must do everything we can to prevent any actions that 
increase hunger in America.
  These food insecurity numbers are sad and disheartening, but they are 
also a call to action. We can do better. We must do better.

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