[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13798]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       SNAP BENEFITS FOR VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Enyart) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ENYART. Mr. Speaker, during the 35 years I spent in the military, 
it was my privilege to lead the outstanding men and women in our Armed 
Forces. Many are still serving today. They served with honor and 
distinction, yet here we are talking about treating the lowest paid of 
them like second-class citizens, unworthy of basic assistance in these 
difficult times.
  I was elected to Congress to represent everyone in the 12th 
Congressional District of Illinois. I represent the poorest county in 
the State of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, 100,000 people in my district, most 
of them children or seniors, live below the poverty line. My district 
has a higher proportion of veterans than any other district in this 
State.
  I answer to Active Duty military and veterans who rely on SNAP 
benefits to make ends meet. They exist in my district and in every 
district represented in this House. Mr. Speaker, does anyone in this 
Chamber wish to tell them that in this hour of need, their country is 
turning its back on them? Who among us wants to decide which of these 
veterans deserve assistance and which do not? I know I don't.
  According to the Census Bureau, about 7 percent of people who report 
prior military service also report receiving SNAP benefits. Census data 
indicates that some 1.5 million households with a veteran are receiving 
SNAP benefits.
  The base pay of most recent enlistees, from corporals on down, is at 
or below the $23,050 poverty rate for a family of four. At military 
commissaries nationwide, nearly $88 million in SNAP benefits were 
redeemed. Stars and Stripes reported that in 2011, food stamp purchases 
at military commissaries tripled during the preceding 4 years.
  Just last month, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported 
that approximately 900,000 veterans currently receive food aid and that 
proposed cuts would impact around 170,000.
  According to The Hill newspaper, more than $98 million in SNAP 
benefits were redeemed by veterans in 2012. The Huffington Post reports 
that in 2011, ``both Active Duty members and retirees, together, used 
more than $100 million in Federal food aid in the past year.''
  Sixteen percent of SNAP recipients are disabled, many of them are 
veterans. SNAP benefits are already scheduled to go down. On November 
1, families of three will lose $29 a month. Now, that doesn't sound 
like very much, but the daily per person per meal benefit will be less 
than $1.40.
  Recently, one Illinois veteran was quoted, saying, ``I relocated, and 
the job I was supposed to get fell through. I lived off my savings but 
found myself needing to apply for emergency assistance to sustain until 
I found a job. I, like many others, was only receiving assistance for a 
time (5 months) but don't know what I would have done without it.''
  They served us with honor and distinction, Mr. Speaker. Some are 
still serving. Now it is time for us to serve them with a measure of 
honor and distinction of our own. I urge my colleagues to reject these 
shameful proposals which would cut this basic level of assistance to 
deserving recipients who need it now more than ever.

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