Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I understand this has been cleared by both sides. This is an amendment that I offer. It is an amendment that passed on a…”

“I understand this has been cleared by both sides. This is an amendment that I offer. It is an amendment that passed on a record vote of 409 to zero in the House. It basically closes a loophole in the Food Stamp Program. The GAO did a study and determined that the Federal Government is losing nearly $4 million a year to provide food stamps for prisoners who obviously do not need food stamps. Prisoners do not qualify for food stamps because, of course, they are being fed in prison. But nevertheless, there is food stamp abuse going on where someone in a household claims a prisoner to add to the food stamp benefits. Mr. President, I am very pleased that this amendment is going to be accepted because I think it is very important that the States do a basic check of their prison rolls with their food stamp rolls to make sure that the food stamps are being used for the purpose for which they were intended. Food stamps are an entitlement, as they should be. They are given to anyone who is in need. But I think it is not fair to double dip, and we can save $4 million. In fact, that $4 million will go into some of the other very important programs that will be covered by this reconciliation bill. So I am very pleased that we are closing this loophole, and I am very pleased that we are also adding another part that provides nutrition education for the low-income households through a network of social service organizations.”