"There is not a community in this country that is hunger free."
"These are really vital programs. I think all of us when we go into our districts, we see people who are in really tough situations."
"If the economy gets better, the amount we spend goes down."
"I don't think all programs are equal, and certainly programs that provide nutrition and food to people in this country to ensure that they don't go hungry I think need to be prioritized."
"We have been very aggressive in working with states to help them understand both how to reduce improper payments and the importance of continuing to reduce improper payments."
"Make no mistake, in these tough times, the Federal nutrition programs are the safety net between hunger and health for millions of Americans."
"I appreciate your offer to work with us and I look forward to working with you."
"Which means that thousands or tens of thousands or millions of people will not be able to get food?"
"I think we need to do a better job of lifting this issue up and I think USAID and the Secretary of State and Secretary Vilsack have done a really good job with Feed the Future."
"I am particularly interested in reaching out to smaller and medium-sized farms and smaller producers as well as speciality crop producers."
"My understanding is that these programs are pretty well run by independent analysis, and sometimes there is this perception out there that all we need to do is cut more overhead here and staff here."