[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 86 (Monday, June 17, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       SNAP CUTS IN THE FARM BILL

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                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 17, 2013

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am deeply concerned about the $20 billion 
cut over the next decade to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, included in the 
reauthorization of the Farm bill and supported by some of my colleagues 
on the House Committee on Agriculture. SNAP is the cornerstone of our 
nation's nutrition assistance safety net and touches the lives of over 
one in seven Americans. To highlight the importance of this critical 
safety net, last week I participated in a one day SNAP Challenge by 
limiting my total daily food budget to $4.50--the equivalent of the 
daily benefits received by individuals living in Michigan.
  If these cuts are enacted into law, nearly 2 million low-income 
Americans will lose benefits and 210,000 children from low-income 
families will lose free school meals, which may be their only meal of 
the day. My colleagues claim that cuts are needed to reduce the federal 
debt. However, every major deficit reduction packaged signed into law 
over the last thirty years has always been negotiated according to the 
principle of not increasing poverty or inequality.
  Moreover, families are already facing cuts to SNAP benefits. Under 
current law, the temporary boost in benefits provided in April of 2009 
by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are scheduled to end on 
November 1. This expiration of enhanced benefits will cause a family of 
three to experience a $20-$25 month deduction in benefits, which 
amounts to a cut of $1.40 per person per meal. This reduction, coupled 
with the draconian $20 billion cut proposed in the Farm Bill, is simply 
cruel.
  In 2007, 26.3 million Americans participated in SNAP nationally. In 
2012, more than 46.2 million people received benefits--doubling of the 
number of participants in 2007. This is a testament to the fact that 
when people struggle to put food on their tables during an economic 
downturn, SNAP is able to respond to meet their needs. SNAP is our 
nation's most important anti-hunger program and we must protect it for 
the future sake of vulnerable children and families. I encourage my 
colleagues to stand up for low-income Americans and fight for this 
vital safety net.

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