[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1276-H1277]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1115
                       NATIONAL ANTI-HUNGER WEEK

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, this is National Anti-Hunger Week. The 
United States is the richest nation on Earth. We are a land of 
abundance. And yet millions of people in our country go to bed hungry 
every single night.
  They are called food insecure, but what it is is that they are 
hungry, and programs like the food stamp program, the SNAP program, 
have enjoyed bipartisan support for decades because great leaders, 
people like George McGovern, Bob Dole, Ted Kennedy, Jack Kennedy, and 
people like Jake Javits, said that we have a moral obligation to combat 
hunger in the United States.
  What we need to do is to strengthen the SNAP program, not sabotage 
it. This administration's new proposals to implement strict work 
requirements are a thinly veiled attempt to throw people off of the 
program.
  The vast majority of SNAP recipients already work if they can. USDA's 
most recent data shows that work rates have been increasing year after 
year.
  The food box proposal is an attack on the dignity of the families 
that have fallen on hard times. Undermining SNAP will not eradicate 
hunger. It throws many Americans into deep poverty and desperation at 
times when they need support the most.
  Food insecurity affects veterans, working families, children, 
workers,

[[Page H1277]]

the unemployed, and seniors. It is about lifting people out of poverty. 
It is about supporting our economy. It works for households with 
children.

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