Tom Harkin: “I too wish to pay tribute to the accomplishments of Ms. Bonny O'Neil and thank her for her many years of dedicated…”

“I too wish to pay tribute to the accomplishments of Ms. Bonny O'Neil and thank her for her many years of dedicated service to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ms. O'Neil has done an outstanding job as the senior career official responsible for the Food Stamp Program. Under her very capable leadership, this important program has been greatly improved. During the writing of the recent farm bill, which took almost 2 years, Ms. O'Neil worked tirelessly with the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on the food stamp provisions. Her expertise in this area was invaluable and she was always available to provide assistance. After the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 was signed into law, Ms. O'Neil worked to implement the food stamp provisions, including the large number of State flexibility sections contained in the act. The quality of her efforts in this regard are obvious. In the one year since the farm bill passed, numerous States have already implemented or are planning to implement important State options that significantly improve the Food Stamp Program. As a result, we are helping working Americans in their efforts to enter and stay in the workforce and also making sure that, for millions of American children, the shadow of hunger does not loom so darkly.”