[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6674]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HUNGER IN AMERICA

  (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, yesterday, Chairman Paul Ryan held a 
hearing on poverty--a timely and necessary conversation. But the 
problem is that not one single person living in poverty was a witness 
at that hearing, and that is really a shame.
  There are plenty of men and women, like Barbie Izquierdo or Tianna 
Gaines Turner from the Witnesses to Hunger, who should be invited here 
to describe what it is like to be hungry or cold simply because there 
isn't enough money to heat a house and buy enough food to eat. They can 
describe for Mr. Ryan how difficult it is to stretch a SNAP allotment 
for the entire month and, most importantly, how hard it is to make ends 
meet with a job that pays an inadequate wage.
  We need to hear from those who struggle with poverty and not just 
those think tank gurus. We need to hear what is working and what is not 
working on the ground in our communities.
  Chairman Ryan's hearing missed the mark. When it comes to issues 
involving poverty and hunger, Mr. Speaker, this majority that runs this 
House doesn't have a clue.
  I urge everyone to listen to real people who are struggling in 
poverty. Perhaps if we did, this Congress wouldn't be so cruel to poor 
people.

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