[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 13, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5097-H5098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INCREASE SNAP BENEFITS TO PROMOTE ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring attention to a recent 
study published by Kranti Mulik and Lindsey Haynes-Maslow in the 
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. Their research confirms 
what we already

[[Page H5098]]

know about SNAP and what the Agriculture Committee has discovered 
during our thorough review of the program; and that is, that current 
benefits averaging only a $1.40 per person per meal are not enough to 
cover the cost of a healthy diet.
  Drs. Mulik and Haynes-Maslow set out to explore how much it costs 
families to follow the MyPlate dietary guidelines set by the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, and then estimated the additional resources 
families on SNAP would need to follow these recommendations for a 
healthy diet.
  They discovered that a family of four with two adults and two 
children between the ages of 8 and 17 needed between $1,109 and $1,249 
a month to follow USDA's recommendations for a healthy diet, including 
the time to prepare nutritious meals. The research found this type of 
family, a family of four with two older kids, would need an additional 
$627 per month to eat a nutritious diet.

  Overall, the research determined that current SNAP benefits only 
cover about 43 to 60 percent of the food budget needed to follow 
MyPlate recommendations. These findings underscore the need for 
Congress to protect SNAP and further expand access to nutritious food 
by increasing benefits. This is especially important as we continue to 
learn more about the negative health impacts exacerbated by hunger and 
a lack of access to nutritious food.
  Unfortunately, some in this House have turned efforts to help our 
constituents put food on their table when times are tough into an 
ideological crusade and, quite frankly, it is unconscionable. Food 
ought to be a fundamental right for every single person.
  Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee and in the Republican 
leadership of this House advanced a farm bill last month that would 
have done irreparable harm to our anti-hunger safety net. It relied on 
negative stereotypes and incorrect assumptions about the hardworking 
American families who rely on modest SNAP benefits. It would have 
slashed SNAP by $23 billion, which would cause millions of Americans to 
see their benefits reduced or eliminated entirely.
  And not only did this terrible bill single out those vulnerable 
adults who are having a difficult time finding stable employment, it 
also targeted working families, older adults, and children.
  In the United States of America, the richest country in the history 
of the world, no person should go to bed hungry or wondering where his 
or her next meal is coming from. This Congress ought to be focused on 
helping our constituents with a hand up when times are tough, instead 
of demonizing the poor and ignoring their struggles.
  Now, I am encouraged that the Senate Agriculture Committee is marking 
up a bipartisan farm bill today that protects SNAP from harmful cuts 
and makes investments in the program to help increase access to healthy 
foods. My Republican friends in the House should follow their example.
  As we continue through this year's farm bill process, I urge my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reject cuts to SNAP benefits 
and oppose efforts to reduce access to this critical food assistance 
program.
  As research has long confirmed, SNAP helps to reduce food insecurity, 
promote access to nutritious foods, and improve health. We know that 
SNAP benefits must be increased to cover the costs associated with a 
nutritious diet. I encourage my colleagues to consider this important 
new information and to join me in working to end hunger now.

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