Dick Lugar: “Throughout that period of time, I have been deeply concerned about the Food Stamp Program for several reasons, and the…”

“Throughout that period of time, I have been deeply concerned about the Food Stamp Program for several reasons, and the distinguished Senator from Missouri has expanded on many of them. The Food Stamp Program, because it is a national program and an extraordinarily complex one dealing with myriad retail situations, has led to great fraud and abuse. That has been a concern of the Committee on Agriculture really throughout the entirety of the program. It has to be our concern today. But I have also been deeply concerned about the Food Stamp Program because it is the basic safety net for nutrition for Americans. It is the stopper, in terms of people starving, in this country. We have known that. We have regretted its abuse on occasion, but we have cherished the thought that every American, in a country of abundance, would have a chance to eat. That is fundamental and that we must preserve.”