Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Chairman, I am joined in making this amendment by my colleague from Michigan (Mr. Benishek).

This particular amendment addresses the issue of veterans in this country who are living on the edge, the 1.4 million veterans who are living in poverty, the 900,000 who are on food stamps.

We do know there is a backlog that exists, even now, with veterans' disability claims from 572,000 currently around the country, some waiting as long as 200 days. This amendment is going to make them eligible for SNAP benefits under the disabled category, which will, for all intents and purposes, allow them to access food that is prepared and also deduct medical expenses for their status.

Filing for SNAP under the disabled status can provide much-needed assistance with minimal cost. For a veteran with war-related mental or physical injuries, this small amount of help can make an enormous difference.

Again, I want to thank Congressman Benishek for his cosponsorship of this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Chairman, as my colleague said, this is truly a simple amendment that holds our poor veterans harmless while we deal with the dysfunction in the VA. It is a compassionate and appropriate action by this House. I urge its passage.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

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