[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 58 (Wednesday, April 11, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REJECT SNAP CUTS IN THE FARM BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, the farm bill should be about helping our 
farmers and strengthening our food and nutrition programs. It shouldn't 
be about beating up on poor people.
  As the House Agriculture Committee prepares to mark up the 2018 farm 
bill, I rise to express my deep concern and my outrage with reports 
that Republicans on the committee are considering drastic cuts to the 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP.
  Press reports indicate that the majority intends to dismantle the 
core function of SNAP to pay for a huge, new, untested bureaucracy, 
while cutting and even eliminating benefits for millions of the most 
vulnerable Americans, including seniors, older workers, individuals 
with disabilities, working families with children, and other struggling 
adults.
  We are still awaiting the full details on the plan, which was crafted 
behind closed doors without any input from Democrats on the committee--
I am not even sure any input from Republicans on the committee. But 
this is what we have learned: that the Republicans intend to focus 
their cuts in three areas.
  First, we are hearing Chairman Conaway's bill will eliminate broad-
based categorical eligibility, an important State option that helps 
working families with kids and seniors qualify for benefits when times 
are tough.
  More than 40 States currently implement this option, which allows 
them to raise income cutoffs and ease asset limits.
  Broad-based categorical eligibility also mitigates any cliff effect, 
albeit small, that exists in SNAP, and eliminating it would penalize 
families from accruing modest savings to help lift themselves out of 
poverty.
  Estimates suggest that at least 400,000 eligible households will lose 
their SNAP benefits if broad-based categorical eligibility is 
eliminated, and 265,000 students will lose access to free lunches at 
school.
  I mean, really?
  Mr. Speaker, this is shameful.
  We are also reading that the Republicans are looking to cut benefits 
for households with out-of-pocket utility expenses by disconnecting the 
link between SNAP and the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program 
known as LIHEAP. Doing so will require those with utility expenses to 
produce the actual bills for each expense rather than receiving a 
standard allowance. It will force the elderly, it will force people who 
are disabled and working families to make another trip to the SNAP 
office and cut benefits for those who are unable to produce the 
receipts.
  Mr. Speaker, we expect that this proposal will cut benefits by at 
least $6.6 billion.
  Lastly, we have heard the Republicans intend to focus much of their 
damaging proposal on harsher work requirements that target vulnerable 
groups of adults who do not have children or other dependents, known as 
ABAWDs.
  We are reading that the Republican majority is proposing to develop a 
massive new bureaucracy and subject 3 to 5 million vulnerable Americans 
to new mandatory work requirements.
  I want to remind my colleagues that the ABAWD population is diverse. 
Many have limited access to education, with more than 80 percent having 
no more than a high school education or a GED. Some have mental health 
issues, difficult histories of substance abuse, or are ex-offenders 
with nowhere else to turn. And as many as 60,000 of them are veterans 
who have served our country.
  These childless adults on SNAP are often extremely poor and sometimes 
experience chronic homelessness. They turn to SNAP as a safety net when 
they lose their jobs, their hours at work are cut, or their wages are 
so low that they are unable to make ends meet.
  Under current law, ABAWDs are already subjected to severe time limits 
on the program. They are only provided access to benefits for 3 months 
out of a 3-year period and are completely cut off from assistance after 
that time if they have not been able to find work.
  Mr. Speaker, this Congress should be committed to helping people who 
are living in poverty and working to help make their lives easier, not 
cutting them off from assistance when they most need it.
  Estimates suggest that as many as 1 million people will lose 
assistance if these incredibly damaging work proposals advance.
  The House Agriculture Committee held 23 hearings on SNAP over the 
past several years. I attended every single one. We heard testimony 
from dozens of witnesses, Republicans and Democrats alike; and not one 
witness, not one, Mr. Speaker, suggested that we make the 
drastic changes to the program that will cut off those most in need of 
assistance, let alone the ones whom the Republican majority are 
advancing.

  Quite frankly, I don't know where these ideas are coming from, maybe 
some rightwing think tank, but they are certainly not coming from the 
Agriculture Committee.
  Let's be clear about what is happening. Speaker Ryan made clear a few 
weeks ago that he views the farm bill as a key piece of his misguided 
welfare reform agenda. And just yesterday, President Trump issued a new 
executive order aimed at forcing SNAP recipients off of assistance.
  The Republican farm bill isn't about trying to help people. It is 
about politics and it is about appeasing the rightwing of the 
Republican party. It relies on negative stereotypes to advance the goal 
of undermining our safety net programs and cutting people off of help 
who need it most. It is disgusting.
  Mr. Speaker, I plead with you, I plead with Chairman Conaway and 
Republicans in this Congress to stop this attack on those who are 
living in poverty. SNAP is an important program. It is about providing 
people food, and I urge my colleagues on both sides to reject any and 
all proposals that will undermine this important program.
  Mr. Speaker, the war against the poor must stop.

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