Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Plaskett for anchoring this Special Order on support of the Supplemental Nutrition…”

“I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Plaskett for anchoring this Special Order on support of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. I want to express my significant concerns with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's proposed rule to change the determination qualifications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Currently, nearly 36 million people receive monthly SNAP benefits. To be eligible for assistance, gross monthly income must be at or below 130 percent of the poverty line. 44.4 percent of residents in Houston live at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty line. In the Houston metropolitan area households with children, 19.3 percent struggled against food hardships in 2014-2015. In February of 2018, SNAP served 304,542 households in Houston, bringing in $82,374,563 of 100 percent federally funded benefits, generating approximately $147.5 million in economic activity. In Harris County alone, 599,928 people are eligible for SNAP benefits. In August of 2019 Harris County received a total of $70.9 million in totally SNAP payments. As a result of the proposal 3 million people may lose their eligibility for food assistance. States currently have the flexibility to not cut off benefits as soon as a family's gross income exceeds a certain level, but to more slowly phase out the food aid. This is to ensure that those who are at or slightly above the poverty line do not risk falling below that line.…”