Executive Session
Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, first, I ask unanimous consent that an official letter of resignation as mayor of Newark, NJ, from Senator-elect Cory Booker of New Jersey be printed in the Record.
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, 2 days ago Kate Maehr of the Greater Chicago Food Depository came to visit me in my office. Kate is one of my favorite people. Kate runs this huge network of food distribution in the Chicagoland area. Her warehouses are huge, and they are filled with foodstuffs, much of which is donated by companies that produce food so that it can be distributed in food pantries and other sources all around the Chicagoland area. Kate is one of the best, and I look forward to her visits each year because I know the fine work she does to feed the hungry.
Two days ago she came into my office very sad.
She said: I don't know what we are going to do.
I said: What is the matter?
She said: This Friday the increase in food stamps, or SNAP benefits, for the poor people who live in the greater Chicagoland area is going to be cut. It may be only $10 or $15, but I know these people, I know many of them personally, and they live so close to the edge. It will call for some sacrifice on their part, and many of them will be hard-pressed to make that sacrifice, and I can't make up the difference. With all of the donations and all of the charitable contributions, I just can't make up the difference.
I thought about it for a minute. I thought, how would you approach a Member of the Senate or the House of Representatives and say: You know, this cutback of $15 a month will really hurt. It is hard for us, in our positions in life, to really understand or identify with the plight and the struggle of those who are not certain where their next meal is coming from.
Most of those people have the benefit of the SNAP program, the food stamp program. Well, who are these people? Who are these 48 million Americans who receive benefits from this program? Almost 1 million of them are veterans. Veterans who are not sure where their next meal is coming from get food stamps--SNAP benefits. Almost half of the 48 million are children. There are 22 million children and another 9 million who are elderly and disabled. When we talk about cuts in the SNAP program, we are talking about these people--the veterans, children, the elderly, and the disabled.
Right now there are two proposals before us. One proposal is from the Senate, and that cuts back spending on this program to the tune of $4 billion over 10 years. I supported it because I think it closes the potential for abuse. I don't want to waste a penny of Federal taxpayers' money on any program in any way, shape, or form. Senator Stabenow, chairman of the Senate agriculture committee, made this change in the food stamp program that will save us $4 billion and will not create hardship. In fact, it closes what may be a loophole.
Now comes the House of Representatives, and their view is much different. They want to cut some $40 billion--10 times as much--over the next 10 years. When we take a look at the approach they are using for these cuts--10 times the amount cut by the Senate--we understand how they get their so-called savings. They take almost 4 million--3.8 million--people out of the program: children, single mothers, unemployed veterans, and Americans who get temporary help from the food stamp program. The House would cut $19 billion and 1.7 million people from SNAP by eliminating the authority of Governors of both political parties to ask for waivers so that low-income childless adults under 50 can still receive benefits beyond the 3 months they do ordinarily. This says that Governors looking at their States with high unemployment understand that there are people in need.
It is hard for Members of Congress in the House or the Senate--it is hard for me too--to really appreciate the lifestyle of someone living from paycheck to paycheck, but that is a reality for millions of Americans. Many of the people who are receiving food stamps are working. That may come as a shock to people, but they are not making enough money to feed their families.
I went on a tour of a food warehouse in Champaign, IL, and had a number of people explain the importance of not only their work with food pantries but the importance of the food stamp program. I noticed one young woman who was part of the tour. I didn't quite understand why she was there. She was an attractive young mother who was dressed well. She explained that she had two children. I later learned why she was there. She is a food stamp recipient. She has a part-time job with the local school district--not a full- time job--and her income is so low, she still qualifies for food stamps, SNAP benefits. She was there to thank me. She wanted to thank me not just for the food stamp program but because we changed the law a couple of years ago and allow mothers like her to take their kids to farmers markets and use their food stamps to buy fresh produce.
She said: It is almost like a trip to Disneyland for my kids. They have come to know the farmers, and they look forward to meeting them each week. The farmers give them an extra apple or tomato or this or that, and I just want to thank you. My kids are getting good food from farmers markets, and it helps us make ends meet.
This is a single working mom with two kids. Those are the types of people who are receiving food stamps and benefits. The notion that they are somehow lazy welfare queens--go out and meet them. Meet the woman at the Irving Park United Methodist Church food pantry I met who is trying to live in the city of Chicago on a Social Security check that pays her $800 a month. I challenge any Member in the Senate or House to try to get by on $800 a month in the city of Chicago. She makes it because she has two food pantries that give her 3 or 4 days of food each and she has food stamps.
I will conclude by saying that what we are talking about as far as food stamps is really a matter of basic hunger of children, veterans, elderly, and disabled who get this helping hand that makes a difference in their lives.
We are a great and caring nation. I am so proud to represent a great State in that Nation. We are a caring people, and caring people do not turn their backs on hungry kids or hungry elderly people. We better take care, when it comes to this food stamp program, that we don't make cuts that are going to make their lives more difficult.
Finally, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all speakers on the Democratic side prior to noon be limited to 5 minutes each.
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