[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12396]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TAKING THE FOOD STAMP CHALLENGE

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, this week, I am joined by three of my 
esteemed colleagues, Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson from Missouri, 
Congressman Tim Ryan from Ohio and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky from 
Illinois, in taking the Food Stamp Challenge.
  The Food Stamp Challenge is an initiative begun by nonprofit and 
religious community groups. Public officials agree to live on a food 
stamp budget for 1 week in order to raise awareness of the food stamp 
program and the inadequacy of the current benefit. Under the Food Stamp 
Challenge, we will only be allowed to eat food totaling $21 for the 
week, $3 a day, or $1 per meal, which is the national average food 
stamp benefit. In other words, no lattes at Starbucks, no organic 
chicken at home and no wine or shrimp at receptions this week.
  Yesterday, Congresswoman Emerson and I went grocery shopping at the 
Capitol Hill Safeway for the week. However, she was a more efficient 
shopper than I was. While she made it through the checkout line in 30 
minutes, it took me almost an hour and a half to find food that fit my 
budget, and that was even with the much-appreciated assistance of Ms. 
Toinette Wilson, a DC food stamp recipient, who assisted my wife Lisa 
and me with our shopping.
  Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski successfully took the challenge with 
his wife a few weeks ago, and Utah Governor John Huntsman, Jr., is 
currently living on a food stamp budget with his household of eight. In 
New York City, where over 1 million people depend on food stamps each 
month, New York City Councilman Eric Gioia is participating in the Food 
Stamp Challenge.
  This diverse group of public leaders who all feel compelled to take 
on this challenge demonstrates the importance of the food stamp program 
for all Americans: from California to Massachusetts, Michigan to Texas, 
Republican and Democrat, urban and rural, the food stamp program 
represents the moral values of America: compassion, thoughtfulness and 
community spirit.
  Mr. Speaker, I am taking this Food Stamp Challenge as a way of saying 
that as Americans, we need to do more to eliminate hunger and poverty 
in this country. One in nine U.S. households, nearly 36 million 
Americans, does not consistently have enough food to feed themselves or 
their families according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There 
is no excuse for this.
  In the wealthiest country on earth, it is not about finding the 
resources. It is about mustering the political will.
  Established in 1939, the food stamp program helps families in need 
buy food so that they do not have to make difficult choices, such as 
choosing between paying a utility bill, addressing health care needs or 
buying food. It truly is the safety net for America's hungry.
  Despite what some critics like to say, the food stamp program is not 
a government handout, but it is a true safety net program that provides 
access to food for people who cannot afford to choose between rent, 
medicine, child care and transportation. Gone are the days of the 
inefficient program ravaged by fraud, waste and abuse. In fact, 
National Journal recently named the food stamp program as one of the 
government's top successes. And the GAO has repeatedly reported on the 
successes of this important program.
  Mr. Speaker, let me take a moment to share with you who benefits from 
the food stamp program. According to USDA, over 26 million people 
benefited from the food stamp program last year, including 452,000 
individuals from my State of Massachusetts. Over 80 percent of food 
stamp benefits go to families with children. One in five food stamp 
households has an elderly family member, and one in four has a disabled 
member. Increasingly, working families must rely on food stamps to 
supplement their wages in low-paying jobs.
  Some may question the motives of elected officials taking this 1-week 
challenge. These critics, Mr. Speaker, are missing the point. It's time 
for a much greater public debate to take place around this issue. It is 
time to end hunger in America, and we can do so starting by focusing on 
the food stamp program.
  The food stamp program is our government's first line of defense 
against hunger and malnutrition and it should be better equipped to 
accomplish that task. Merely 60 percent of those who are eligible to 
receive food stamps currently do, and in Massachusetts that 
participation rate is only 49 percent. The participation rate is 
particularly low for immigrants and the elderly.
  Last week, Congresswoman Emerson and I introduced H.R. 2129, the 
Feeding America's Families Act, which would greatly improve the food 
stamp program as well as other Federal hunger and nutrition programs 
scheduled for reauthorization in the farm bill. We encourage each of 
our colleagues to consider cosponsoring this important piece of 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, although some judge the health of our Nation by how the 
wealthiest are faring, others, including myself, believe we must 
measure the morality and prosperity of our society by the status and 
mobility of those at the bottom of the economic ladder. Through this 
challenge, I hope my constituents, the American people and my 
colleagues in Washington, DC, will learn more about the vital role the 
food stamp program plays in the lives of low-income people.

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