All Quotes

There are times when broad-based categorical eligibility is, frankly, an embarrassment.

Before I begin, I would like to take just a second to mention the resolution the Senate will be passing this week celebrating the 100th anniversary of the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment. This was a landmark moment in the…

First off, we should be clear that it is the law of the land in my understanding since the 1996 Welfare Act that able-bodied SNAP recipients should work.

I am introducing the Farm and Ranch to School bill, which would allow for a greater portion of that budget to be used on locally sourced beef, bison, and other meats.

I don't think that holding people accountable is punishment. I think it is a hallmark of a responsible society.

I know I am not lazy. I know I grew up as a poor boy in South Dakota, I know my life is better because I was held accountable by parents, by teachers, by the laws and regulations and rules of a society.

I appreciate the comments from the Senator from Massachusetts and also his great work on this. It has been a team effort and a great partnership. He and I--although in many cases we represent different parts of the country, we all…

In the 1960s, South Dakota's Ben Reifel became the first Lakota Indian to represent our country in Congress. He grew up dirt poor in a log cabin. He dropped out after the eighth grade, later going on to graduate from South Dakota State and…

In 1961, South Dakota's Ben Reifel became our Nation's first Lakota Indian in Congress. He grew up dirt poor in a log cabin in rural Todd County. He dropped out after eighth grade but later graduated from South Dakota State and from…

I am honored to be a part of this Special Order tonight. I want to highlight the dire situation in my home State of South Dakota. Our State is just barely beginning to recover from dramatic flooding while, simultaneously, we are trying to…

Evidence is powerful and data can light our way forward.

Work does that, and if a couple of things came out loud and clear that there is basis for agreement, it is first off that people who can work, should work.

No, absolutely, and I think that is what is concerning about the way the waivers operate right now...

That is not leadership. And so, let's work with SNAP recipients. Let's work with this Subcommittee. Let's work with the Administration to move even more people from welfare to work.

The term able-bodied, as we have talked about, is so key to this discussion, and I want to make sure that we are working to empower and not stigmatize the ABAWD population.

Third, that work and education are a critically important, a necessary part of helping people realize opportunities to move out of poverty.

Second, that SNAP is an important poverty program. That is something worth maintaining, something worth holding up.

For me, an important foundation of all of this Subcommittee's work on nutrition is, first, that we all want to improve the lives of Americans who are facing hard times.