Tim Huelskamp: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate waiting on a few other folks to speak. One thing I would like to point out, I…”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate waiting on a few other folks to speak. One thing I would like to point out, I appreciate the arguments of my colleague from Texas that indicates these are commonsense reforms. I think most Americans agree, let's help folks that are in need, but we probably shouldn't help those who don't actually qualify for food stamps. With the adoption of this amendment, it will require folks that would like to receive food stamps--SNAP benefits--to actually have to qualify for them instead of being qualified through another program. It was also noted about the impact of these reforms and their potential impact on cuts. Let's look at a little history of this particular program. In 2002, in the 2002 farm bill, $270 billion was the spending level--$270 billion. In the 2008 farm bill, it was approximately $400 billion. If this amendment is adopted, the spending level would be $733 billion. Only in Washington could you say going from $270 billion to $733 billion is a cut. These are commonsense reforms. These a few decades ago were considered bipartisan reforms to encourage people to look for work, to encourage people to get a job. I agree with my colleagues: there isn't a person in America I don't think that wouldn't rather have a paycheck rather than a SNAP check or a SNAP card, or a Vision card if you're in the State of Kansas. {time} 1210 These are very commonsense reforms. They will work. They are good for Americans. They are good for our taxpayers.…”