[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 6 (Thursday, January 11, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H66]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             END HUNGER NOW

  (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, after the 2022 White House Conference on 
Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, Democrats, led by Speaker Pelosi and 
President Biden, established a program to provide eligible families 
$120 per child over the summer for nutritious food.
  I thank Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Deputy Under 
Secretary Stacy Dean for standing up the new summer EBT program.
  Thirty-five States, including my own State, Massachusetts, five 
territories, and four Tribes signed up to participate in 2024, helping 
21 million kids across the country.
  I hope that the States that are working with the USDA to adopt 
programs in 2025 keep at it. Hungry kids are counting on them.
  To the Republican Governors who rejected this program, like Iowa 
Governor Kim Reynolds, who said it ``does nothing to promote 
nutrition,'' or Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, who said, ``I don't 
believe in welfare,'' oh my God, what the hell is wrong with these 
people, Mr. Speaker? I say to them: Shame on you for taking food from 
hungry kids.

  Summer EBT will make a huge difference as we work to end hunger now.

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