[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 12 (Thursday, January 21, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E56]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           AYUDA ACT OF 2021

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                  HON. GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN

                    of the northern mariana islands

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 21, 2021

  Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Assuring You 
Uniform Dietary Assistance (AYUDA) Act, making the Northern Mariana 
Islands part of the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
(SNAP). My bill ensures individuals and families in our islands who 
rely on this help to put food on the table are treated equitably and 
receive similar levels of assistance available in other parts of our 
nation.
  Inclusion in SNAP for the people I represent remains a priority goal 
for me. I first introduced the AYUDA Act in the 112th Congress. And in 
the years since, a pilot program has demonstrated the feasibility of 
including the Northern Marianas in SNAP. Taking this action will avoid 
future disruption in vital food aid. And it will relieve the 
administrative burden on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to manage a 
one-off, block grant for our islands when right next door in the U.S. 
territory of Guam SNAP works perfectly well.
  The current block grant approach to food aid for the Northern 
Marianas continues to reduce assistance to those in need compared to 
other Americans. Because the arbitrarily capped block grant funds do 
not automatically respond to changing economic conditions, families in 
need face the prospect that their benefits will be reduced or cut off 
completely. In fact, just last October, the Commonwealth government 
stated it had no choice but to remove households from eligibility for 
the new fiscal year due to insufficient funds. Moreover, benefits were 
substantially cut by 25 percent on October 1, 2020.
  The time has now come to right the disparity that keeps the majority-
minority community I represent excluded from this critical safety net 
program that has kept millions of Americans from going hungry during 
the COVID-19 pandemic.
  At a time when the Marianas economy continues to be shut due to the 
coronavirus crisis, I urge my colleagues to support this bill so that 
those in need are not treated differently simply because of where they 
live in America.

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