Blake Moore: “I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding me these couple of minutes. I would hope that we would listen to…”

“I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding me these couple of minutes. I would hope that we would listen to the point of order that's been raised by Mr. McGovern. For one thing, this bill criminalizes poverty. People with felony records won't be allowed to get food stamps. There will be work requirements in order to get food stamps. These kinds of amendments and additions that we're going to see in this bill really add to the fallacious arguments that we have heard about the gargantuan cuts that are made to the SNAP program: that SNAP is run inefficiently, that these cuts won't hurt anyone, that these cuts don't serve the most vulnerable. Let me just reiterate the facts: SNAP is effectively targeted at our most vulnerable populations, primarily serving children, seniors, and the disabled in the poorest communities, people who cannot work, people who don't have felony records; In my own State of Wisconsin, 47.2 percent of SNAP households include children, 15.4 percent include the very elderly, 21.7 percent include a disabled person. 84.3 percent of those receiving SNAP in my State are children, elderly, and disabled; Nationwide, 76 percent of SNAP households are composed of those who are children, seniors, or disabled persons; There is a rate of 68.7 percent of SNAP households that have a gross income at or below 100 percent of the poverty level.…”