On the recordJune 23, 2022
I am proud to rise in strong support of the House Amendment to S. 2089, the ``Keep Kids Fed Act of 2022.'' Today's bill is a matter of urgency. If Congress does not act now to pass this emergency legislation, millions of children will spend their summer hungry. Millions of children may be forced to spend their school days not learning and growing but feeling the pangs of empty stomachs. Hungry children cannot focus their attention on their studies and learning. They simply cannot thrive while trying to survive. Free and reduced breakfast and lunch waivers are lifelines for families across the nation. I think of the struggling families in my district who have battled against the COVID-19 pandemic for the past two years. Families who now face record high inflation rates, skyrocketing gas prices, and the rising cost of food. Families who are stretching dollars to pay for rent, to get to the doctor, to keep the lights on. Families for whom every penny counts. I think of how these families must have felt when they learned that the aid on which they had relied to feed their children was suddenly going to be taken away. I imagine they felt helpless. It is in our power to feed these children. The ``Keep Kids Fed Act of 2022'' would allow schools to feed children throughout the upcoming school year.…
