I would like to think that we all can agree that everybody who is eligible for this benefit should be able to get it, that we shouldn't be going out of our way to make it more difficult for eligible people to get a food benefit.

Does anyone here believe that the current SNAP benefit is adequate for a family to be able to pay for the groceries they need for an entire month?

We need to make sure that the funding is there.

someone ought to go to jail.

While USDA has not fully evaluated the Safe Food Act, proposals such as H.R. 609 are part of a larger conversation on improving public health.

It is important to draw a line in the sand so we don't start going down a road that would be detrimental to a lot of people in this country.

No more cuts to SNAP, no more cuts to food and nutrition programs.

the strongest possible signal should be sent for the Administration, that enough is enough.

This idea of going back after the program would be a huge mistake.

We cannot balance the budget on the backs of poor people.

He said, 'I gave the order.' Castro said, 'I'm the one responsible.' And yet, this is who we are negotiating with.

For way too long, veterans have been overrepresented among the homeless population.

It shouldn't be any part of the problem.

VA is going to have to be the leaders on this from the Federal Government's point of view.

It is important to understand that didn't happen by coincidence, it didn't happen by luck.

I sincerely hope that today's hearing isn't just another opportunity for some on this Committee to publicly bash SNAP and the people who rely on this program to eat.

Let me remind everyone here of some of the facts. There are 49 million people in this country--the richest country in the history of the world--who are hungry.

And, the overwhelming majority of SNAP recipients who can work do.

SNAP is an important work support.

SNAP is a powerful antipoverty program.

SNAP is highly responsive to need.

I mean, we live in a country where there are 50 million people who are hungry or food insecure.

So maybe we ought to be talking about making work pay a little bit better and maybe increase the minimum wage.

SNAP also improves the long-term outcomes and self-sufficiency for individuals who received its benefits as children.

SNAP growth was not a result of waste or fraud.