Alan Lowenthal: “My dear colleague from Pennsylvania, I agree that it's absolutely ludicrous. On $1.40 per meal, you are not having…”

“My dear colleague from Pennsylvania, I agree that it's absolutely ludicrous. On $1.40 per meal, you are not having lobster dinners. You are not having real dinners. You are barely surviving. These are proud people who want to make a contribution to society, who went through a difficult period. As this son pointed out, after their getting through this difficult time, they moved on after receiving these benefits, which they proudly talk about how much they helped them, and they are now productive members of our society and contribute greatly to this society. It is fallacious and silly to think that people choose to be on SNAP because they want to exploit the system. I want to talk a little bit about who our Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill that just passed today would deny SNAP benefits to. First of all, it would deny SNAP benefits to over 3.8 million of our fellow Americans in the year 2014. Now, who are these poor, unemployed, childless Americans that this bill largely targets? According to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 40 percent are women; 34 percent are over 40 years of age; 50 percent are white; 30 percent are African American; 10 percent are Hispanic; and 5 percent are Native American; 40 percent live in suburban areas; 40 percent live in urban areas; and 20 percent live in rural areas. I would like to say, Mr. Speaker, that SNAP is an investment in America's workers, both current and prospective.…”