[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 8, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H580-H581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          FOOD STAMP PRESIDENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I have to admit that when Newt Gingrich 
first used the phrase the ``food stamp President,'' I was outraged, but 
then I started looking at the facts. I did my homework. I crunched the 
numbers, and I have to admit, food stamp President might be on target.
  I think we have to be willing to understand the numbers and speak the 
truth even when that truth might hurt. So I've come to the floor today 
with some facts and figures--all sourced and backed up--because I know 
that Newt Gingrich wouldn't have it any other way. So let's learn about 
the food stamp President.
  Here are the facts:
  It clearly shows that the food stamp President increased spending on 
food stamps by more than $19 billion. Let me repeat that: under the 
food stamp

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President, the U.S. increased its spending on food stamps by more than 
$19 billion. That's a ``b.'' The source? The U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.
  Here's fact number two. Under the food stamp President, the number of 
people using the food stamp program increased by 11 million people. The 
source? The USDA.
  Here's fact number three. Even the amount of the benefit has 
increased under the food stamp President. The amount per benefit 
increased $27.38 per recipient. Not much you would say, $27. Guess 
what? The $27 increase per benefit is the largest increase that's 
occurred under any President in the last 30 years. Pretty dramatic, 
huh? What's the source of that? The USDA.
  Now, let's just review for everybody again. Republicans and 
Democrats, let's all get together and review that the numbers don't 
lie. Under the Food Stamp President, spending increased by more than 
$19 billion; the number of people using the program increased by 11 
million people; and the amount of the benefit increased by a historic 
amount not seen in the last 30 years.
  We may not like the facts, but sometimes the truth just hurts.
  Here we have him, the food stamp President of the United States. Yes, 
George W. Bush is the Food Stamp President of the United States. Under 
the food stamp President, George Bush, we spent more, had more 
recipients, and gave each recipient more money for food.
  Now, I know that some of you are saying, Luis, you aren't being fair. 
Aren't there some other food stamp Presidents out there? Okay. You're 
right.
  Yet, under another food stamp President, spending increased by more 
than $9 billion, the number of recipients increased by 7 million, and 
the amount of the benefit increased by $17. Yes, it's showing who it 
is. Here it is. George Herbert Walker Bush was also the food stamp 
President. See, it runs in the family. Food stamp President, senior, 
and food stamp President, junior. It's hereditary. A rampant family 
disease that makes them just want to feed hungry poor people.
  Now, I have to confess and make a confession today. I support the 
food stamp program. I think that SNAP--the Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program, to call it by its actual name and not something 
that Newt Gingrich thinks is politically punchy--serves an important 
purpose. The purpose is largely to prevent children and old people from 
going hungry. SNAP doesn't provide them with some fancy perk from some 
out-of-control free spending program. It provides kids and old people 
with food. You can't redeem food stamps at Tiffany, which might be 
another reason why Newt Gingrich thinks it's so bad.
  But I think that Americans want their people not to go hungry. Just 
in case I'm wrong, if Newt Gingrich met a food stamp President other 
than the one named George Bush, I want to thank Barack Obama today 
because he's also invested in SNAP. He's invested in nutrition for 
America's most vulnerable.
  Here's another fact, the last one I'll make today, Mr. Speaker, and 
this one is for Newt Gingrich. Just in case his food stamp President 
name-calling was designed to make a political point that he wasn't 
quite so willing to come right out and say of the recipients whose race 
we know, 22 percent of SNAP recipients are black, 34 percent are white, 
because hunger knows no race or religion or age or political party. 
Hunger is color-blind, Mr. Gingrich.

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