On the recordSeptember 19, 2013
I am shocked at the blatant disregard for our Nation's poor displayed on this floor today. This bill before us cuts over forty billion from nutrition assistance programs, stripping away desperately needed food assistance benefits from over four million Americans, including up to 170,000 of our veterans. In addition, over two hundred thousand hungry children would be kicked off the school lunch program as a result of this Republican bill. That is an absolute disgrace. Who would agree to send all of those children to school hungry? Who would want to literally take food out of the mouths of our children? As a father I cannot even imagine doing such a thing to one child much less hundreds of thousands. For decades I have been involved in helping create a better environment for our students in schools. How can we expect our Nation to move forward when our students are literally starving while trying to better themselves while learning on empty stomachs? If this bill becomes law it will be devastating. I plead with my Republican colleagues. Do not be so cruel to our most vulnerable citizens, to our children, and to our veterans. Vote down this bill. Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to submit two articles into the Congressional Record. The first is an op-ed that I wrote about the importance of federal nutrition assistance that was published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.…
