Jim Costa

My message today is that we need to invest differently. More Americans will experience income stability if we get these Federal programs right.

We have made the working poor our people at Catholic Charities, but you and I often aren't working toward the same goals because the minute a family starts moving forward with our help, they are pushed backwards because of the way benefits…

I think that is the intention here, and I didn't hear anybody here say that the way we help people get out of poverty is to cut SNAP by $10 billion.

States need to have that flexibility to be able to provide people with basic food assistance.

This will continue, and we need to work together as we look at the farm bill.

We certainly need to get it done in some bipartisan fashion.

The blue card legislation that Senator Feinstein and others of us are working on is a partial solution, would you say?

Maybe we don't need to build that wall that somebody else is supposed to pay for because, frankly, that is not the challenge, from my perspective.

I would not forget Texas, Mr. Chairman, ever.

The relationship that has existed for over 100 years with land-grant universities and others in terms of this partnership is unique.

Each and every one of you play a critical role in food security.

I don't believe we are the only state with this problem.

I commit to work with you and work with Members of this Committee to figure out ways that we can expand those efforts.

It does go back to U.S. security; it does go back to national security, and it goes back to food security.

I totally believe that when America carries a burden of food aid to these underdevelopment and unfortunate countries and these unfortunate people that we should also bear the responsibility and the accountability of delivering this food…

We have approximately right now, in the industry sailing deep sea, about 11,300 mariners.

The bottom line for us is the vast majority of military cargo that goes overseas to sustain our warfighters goes on American commercial ships not Navy ships.

A better understanding of who this whole group is and its impacts would be hugely beneficial to the Committee.

It works. And if you have the kind of resources and people who want to make a difference, you can, in fact, make this successful.

We should continue that and try to expand upon it.

More than 80 percent of those enrolled have gained employment.

We need to be aware of that, and if this farm bill were willing to expand those training programs, we have to be willing to put our money where our mouth is to make them effective.

The nutrition programs are a key component of the farm bill, as we all know.

It is a program that provides people food assistance, and that it is important that we not undermine it in any way.

We need to make sure that anyone who needs modest food assistance benefits has access to them.