End Hunger Now

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, this is my 13th End Hunger Now speech this year. Thirteen times I've stood on this floor and talked about hunger in America; 13 times I've come here and defended the anti-hunger safety net, the Federal programs that provide food to 50 million Americans; 13 times I've stood here and talked about hunger as a health issue; 13 times I've said we need to set a goal to end hunger now.

People ask me all the time: Is it even possible to end hunger in America? Mr. Speaker, the answer is a definitive ``yes.''

The truth is we've done this before. That's right, Mr. Speaker, we nearly eradicated hunger in the 1970s. It wasn't easy, but the concept was simple. The political leadership in Washington made a commitment to end hunger in this country.

In the 1970s, Congress and the President expanded the food stamp program, created the WIC program, and expanded the school meals programs. They found the political courage to do what's right because they believed that it was unacceptable that anyone in America went hungry.

Yet that effort was lost when these programs were slashed in the 1980s. Hunger came back with a vengeance. The number of hungry people skyrocketed. In fact, it's been rising steadily since the Reagan Presidency. These programs weren't just cut; they were demonized. Food assistance became a pejorative to some, and we see the results of those years of demonizing those programs today.

The truth is SNAP works. Food assistance works. People on food assistance are able to feed themselves and their families. They're able to use money they might have had to use for food for other purposes like rent, utilities, medical costs, school supplies for their kids, and transportation costs--just to name a few--in order to be able to buy nutritious food. They didn't have to make the choice between food or rent.

But that's not all. The money spent on food from these programs is spent on food which is produced by our farmers. It is spent in grocery stores. In fact, a recent report showed that approximately $70 billion was spent in grocery stores just from SNAP alone during our economic downturn. That's a lot of money going to our economy when our economy was damaged and needed the help.

These programs work, Mr. Speaker. But what's the response from the Republican-controlled House? Are they strengthening a program that is already among the least fraudulent and most efficient and effective in terms of our Federal Government? No.

In 2 weeks, this House will consider a farm bill that will cut $20.5 billion from SNAP. It will take food away from 2 million Americans. It is a bill that will take 210,000 poor kids off free school meal programs. It is a bill that would reduce the monthly SNAP benefit by $90 for another 850,000 people. And that's on top of the automatic across-the-board cuts to SNAP that will take place in November even if we cut nothing else. That's not only wrong. It is quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, beneath this great country of ours.

I will fight these cuts, and I urge all my colleagues--Democrats and Republicans alike--to stand with me in pushing back on these cuts.

We should be praising this program for keeping people from starving. We should be strengthening it and making it work better, not neutering it and taking food away from millions of poor families.

SNAP works, but don't take my word for it. Listen to the words of Trish Thomas Henley, someone who had to rely on SNAP to make ends meet. She says:

In 1993, I was a single parent with a 3-year-old and an 18-month-old. Even though I was working full time making $8.50 an hour as an administrative assistant, I could not afford to pay for food, housing, and day care. I went on food stamps. I remember the shame I felt every time I stood at the register while other shoppers waited for me to count out my food stamps.

The only way out of the cycle of poverty and off aid was to go to college. I applied and, at the age of 25, began my undergraduate career. I had to give up my full-time job to go to school. Instead, I worked three part-time jobs.

I would never, ever have been able to get through school without food stamps, Pell Grants, and student loans. It took a village and government aid. I was not a victim. I did not feel entitled. I, then as now, felt immensely grateful that I lived at a moment when my government chose to invest in me. It has been a smart investment. I am grateful that because of this investment I am now able to contribute and live up to my full potential.

Today, Trish is a professor at the University of Cincinnati. You see, Mr. Speaker, a little investment goes a long way.

SNAP works. It worked in the 1970s as the food stamp program, it worked for Trish in the 1990s, and it's working now. This is not the time to cut SNAP. We should be strengthening the ladders of opportunity that help people succeed. We should, with the help of the White House, develop a plan to end hunger now. We should not be supporting a farm bill that will make hunger worse. Now is the time to renew our efforts and pledge to end hunger now.

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