[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 10, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H5439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      USDA FOOD INSECURITY FIGURES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, last week, the United States Department 
of Agriculture released its annual report on food security in the 
United States. The report documents the levels of food security and 
insecurity in this country. In this report, the USDA measured the 
amount of food available or unavailable to households and individuals. 
In other words, Madam Speaker, the USDA measured the amount of hunger 
in the United States. It measured the ability of Americans to put food 
on their tables.
  The good news is that hunger isn't getting worse. The bad news is 
that there are still 49 million people living in our great country who 
are food insecure; 49 million people who don't know where their next 
meal will come from; 49 million people who are forced to choose between 
basic needs like rent, utilities, and food; 49 million people who don't 
have the resources necessary to make ends meet; 49 million people who 
are hungry. That's one out of every six people living in this country 
who is food insecure--a figure that hasn't changed since 2008.
  While it's a good thing that food insecurity isn't getting worse, 
that's simply not good enough. We must do more to ensure that healthy 
and nutritious food is available to everyone in America. We must ensure 
that 49 million people are not left behind when it comes to buying 
food.
  The fact remains that millions of Americans are still struggling to 
make ends meet. Millions of Americans continue to feel the effects of 
the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. As a result of 
the staggering loss of jobs and reduced wages that came from the 
recession, millions of Americans were forced to turn to the Federal 
Government's preeminent anti-hunger program, SNAP, formerly known as 
food stamps, in order to put food on their tables.
  SNAP participation rates skyrocketed precisely because of the 
recession. SNAP is a safety net. It's designed to increase in 
participation in times of need. That means the cost of the program goes 
up as more people need help buying food while they're either unemployed 
or struggling with lower wages. That's precisely what happened during 
the recession. And that's why there are so many people relying on SNAP 
today. These food insecurity numbers confirm that hunger is a problem 
in America; that there are millions of people--49 million--who don't 
know where their next meals are coming from and need helping buying 
food for themselves and their families.
  This is a sobering report, Madam Speaker, and one that would normally 
result in congressional hearings on the problem and possible ways to 
reduce hunger in America. But we're not living in normal times. That's 
because, Madam Speaker, even with the release of this report showing 
that rates of food insecurity are unchanged since the end of the Bush 
administration, this Republican-controlled House is preparing to 
consider a bill that would cut at least $40 billion from the SNAP 
program. That's right. The response to this report is to make hunger in 
America even worse than it is today.
  I want to remind my colleagues there is not one single town, city, 
county, or congressional district in America that is hunger free. For 
the life of me, I can't understand why the Republicans want to cut this 
program that provides food to millions of Americans. I cannot 
understand why the Republican leadership wants to balance the budget on 
the backs of the working poor.
  SNAP is not only successful; it's efficient and effective. The error 
rate for SNAP is among the lowest, if not the lowest, error rates of 
any Federal program. That's right. Fraud, waste, and abuse in SNAP is 
at an all-time low, which means that SNAP dollars are going exactly 
where they should be going--to food-hungry Americans. On top of that, 
SNAP kept 4.7 million people out of poverty in 2011, including 2.1 
million children. That means that cutting SNAP will also result in 
increased poverty in America. The irony is there are some Members of 
this House who are collecting millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded 
farm subsidies while at the same time they vote to take away food from 
hungry Americans.
  Madam Speaker, hunger in America is real. It must be addressed. 
That's why I've called for a White House conference on food nutrition, 
a conference where we can explore hunger and nutrition and develop a 
plan to end this scourge once and for all. We will not end hunger by 
cutting the most efficient and effective anti-hunger program in the 
country. We will not end hunger through arbitrary, harmful, and 
spiteful budget cuts.
  We can end hunger now if we decide to take that step. The USDA food 
security report provides evidence that we're not doing enough to end 
hunger now. The upcoming vote to cut the anti-hunger safety net shows 
how truly harmful the Republican leadership is when it comes to the 
working poor in America. We can do more. We can do better. We can--and 
we must--end hunger now.

                          ____________________