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Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the cruel and partisan safety net cuts masquerading as the farm bill.
The farm bill has long been a partisan cause, offering assistance and security to farmers and needy families alike in a way that both Democrats and Republicans can support. But this extreme bill cuts more than $23 billion from nutrition assistance programs through eligibility restrictions, kicking a projected 1 million households off the SNAP program and reducing benefits for millions more.
Let me be clear: these are vital, lifesaving benefits to help Americans put food on the table during moments of need. The average family spends just 10 months on SNAP, receiving assistance just long enough to get back on their feet. At the same time, the program helps set our kids up for success. Hungry children perform worse in school, and studies have shown that children on SNAP achieve higher test scores and are more likely to graduate from high school. Children on SNAP achieve higher test scores and succeed, and they have the opportunity to do well later in life.
Mr. Speaker, the partisan approach was the wrong way on tax reform, it was the wrong way on healthcare, and it is the wrong way now. I urge my Republican colleagues to abandon this party-line legislation and instead approach the farm bill in the fair, bipartisan manner we have in the past.
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