[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11268-11269]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 FOOD SHOULD BE OUT OF THE CONVERSATION

  (Mr. BUTTERFIELD asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. One of the most significant congressional 
accomplishments in 1965 was to create a program whereby American 
citizens could have the opportunity for nutritious foods. The SNAP 
program allows 46 million Americans to avoid being hungry. The benefits 
go to deserving individuals. Fifteen percent are elderly; 20 percent 
are disabled. The average gross monthly income for a food stamp 
household is $731. The average net income is $336.
  Now we see an effort to roll back these benefits to these vulnerable 
populations. The Ryan House budget calls for $35 billion in cuts. The 
Lucas-Peterson plan marked up last night calls for $16 billion. That 
will result in 3 million Americans losing basic nutrition.
  Madam Speaker, this proposal will hurt real people and literally take 
food off of their table. It's wrong, it's immoral, and it's 
irresponsible to take food away from deserving American citizens to 
balance a budget that is unbalanced because of reckless policies that 
have benefited the rich.

[[Page 11269]]

  I urge my colleagues to develop a balanced approach to deficit 
reduction, to include cuts and new revenue. But food should be out of 
the conversation.

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