[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 15, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H1191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        MILITARY FOOD INSECURITY

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, the House Agriculture 
Committee has been focused on the issue of food insecurity and the 
programs that serve those in need beyond personal resources, family 
support, and community programs.
  Many are surprised to learn that 22,000 Active Duty military families 
receive supplemental nutritional assistance, or SNAP. Food insecurity 
for the families of these American heroes can be triggered by low pay 
among lower-ranking enlistees, high military spouse unemployment, 
larger household sizes, and unexpected financial emergencies.
  We lifted one barrier to SNAP assistance for military families by 
disbanding the Department of Defense-administered Family Subsistence 
Supplemental Allowance, or FSSA. It was determined that the FSSA 
benefit was duplicative, underutilized, hard to qualify for, and less 
valuable than SNAP, with as few as 100 military families utilizing 
FSSA.
  Another significant barrier that prevents some military families from 
qualifying for SNAP is the fact that their off-base housing allowance 
counts as income when computing eligibility. It is my hope we remedy 
this.
  Mr. Speaker, as we prepare for reauthorization of the Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program, we must remember the needs of America's 
finest and their families, our American military. After all, nutrition 
matters.

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