Dusty Johnson: “I grew up in a large working-class family in central South Dakota. I suppose there were some years when we were more…”

“I grew up in a large working-class family in central South Dakota. I suppose there were some years when we were more poor than we were working class. But I want to make it clear, my parents worked hard every single day. So did I, and so did my brother and my sisters. Even with that hard work, there were times when we needed help from government to get by. I am who I am today because of the experiences of both welfare and hard work. Government assistance can help meet people's basic needs. We all know that. But on its own, welfare alone means surviving just barely on the edges. Welfare can meet short-term basic needs, but education and work--yes, education and work--they deliver long-term hope and dignity and purpose and opportunity. That brings me, today, to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP. Many of us call it food stamps. I know this program well from a number of personal and professional experiences. Most of you probably know that, under Federal law, able-bodied nonseniors--people between the ages of 18 and 50--who don't have children at home are required to work or train or volunteer or go to school for 20 hours a week to receive their benefits. To most Americans, these work requirements are common sense, just as they were when they were passed, in 1986, into law in a bipartisan manner. They are common sense because work isn't punishment. Work is opportunity.…”