the governor has unilaterally re-imposed very restrictive work requirements on SNAP recipients, even though there are no jobs

I can tell you--I tell this story all the time, there is no way for $1.50 a meal I can get the kinds of things that are nutritious.

New Mexico has one of the highest rates of grandparents raising grandchildren.

I do the SNAP Challenge every time that is offered to Members of Congress.

I have to tell you, Mr. Chairman, that is very impressive.

We want folks to get work opportunities, and we don't want being eligible for public benefits to create an environment where you are not succeeding.

In New Mexico, we have permanent SNAP lines at the commissary on the Air Force base, because we have such high poverty rates...

Using the Low Cost Food Plan takes into account how much working people, including SNAP recipients, spend on food in order to have a nutritious diet.

We still have the hungriest families in the country.

the support from Congress to see that happen is probably essential.

charity helps to support the government programs is an important concept and it is an important partnership.

I also want these benefits to be targeted in a meaningful way, and I want real opportunity, so that we don't have persistent poverty.

the intent of Congress to allow states to have more flexibility in how they operate SNAP and related programs is to really ensure that those states can target the constituents, and those families, in a meaningful way

New Mexico is the 5th largest state in terms of land mass. In contrast, we are 36th in population.

I thank Members of this Committee who have already joined this important legislation, and encourage all Members to cosponsor this bill.

That is why last month I introduced H.R. 5215, the Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2016.

up to 80,000 New Mexicans will lose their benefits due to those job requirements to find jobs that, frankly, don't exist

finding the balances so that we are innovative and thinking about ways, particularly, to garner better access, not just to food in general but healthy food that has the educational components and choice in areas where we have significant…

It is an issue we have to address.

Could you be specific about that?

What could we have done better to maybe not approve that Ms. Malik came to the United States in the first place?

I want specificity. Exactly, what are you doing to close those holes, to assure that those gaps get narrowed?

What more can we be doing to share information?

Your mission does not include doing outreach or requiring that outreach is an effective component for access to capital by disadvantaged or minority farmers.

let's get the data from this group to show who has access and who doesn't; get it separated by those minority and disadvantaged farmers, as well as the young and small farmers.