Now more than ever, food banks rely on this program.

I heard directly from veterans on how the lack of access to the SNAP program negatively impacts their lives, their ability to look for work, their mental health, and their nutrition needs.

Failure to act and extend these waivers will mean more hungry kids, higher costs for parents, and a lot of confusion and lack of planning for school districts across the country.

Spanberger's bipartisan REAP Improvement Act strengthens REAP resources and advances key concepts we need now for a significant REAP upgrade.

I also have to acknowledge the incredible work that these programs and their grantees and administrators have done during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I could not agree with him more. And certainly, I have heard from producers in my district the challenge that they sometimes feel like they are positioned to seem like, to use Mr. DesJarlais' term, climate criminals.

Farmers are the original conservationists, and there is so much we can learn from our growers and producers on how to combat the climate crisis.

These programs are critical for combating climate change and improving access to land.

This bipartisan legislation would not only dramatically increase annual funding for the program to $250 million but also would take steps to improve accessibility for rural communities.

I am grateful to the witnesses for being here, and Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

We are pressing on our European partners to not divert humanitarian resources from other parts of the world to Ukraine.

We must ensure the USDA and the Federal Government are specifically focused on rural deployment of EV charging infrastructure.

I am curious kind of in a broader scale if you could speak to some of the role of USDA or USAID in helping Ukraine rebuild its agricultural capacity.

As you noted, REAP is a program focused on making our rural communities more energy-independent, resilient, efficient, all while reducing the cost to consumers.

there is significant concern about what the Russian invasion will have in terms of impact on the global food supply, the potential for an increase in food insecurity in lower- to middle-income countries, in particular, not to mention cost…

And certainly, as we work towards the 2023 Farm Bill, I think we will want to work in concert with your office to determine how it is that we should consider extending some of the funding especially for these new loans.

Thank you for holding this important hearing on our Energy Title programs in the farm bill.

Healthy forests, both public and private, are critical to our fight against the climate crisis.

it is also making sure there are new farmers who did not come from farming, that new land is in production

there are over a dozen Federal definitions of rural.

All of these programs deliver on-the-ground resources that help us mitigate and adapt to climate change, and benefit our producers.

I really appreciate the opportunity to discuss SNAP and to reflect on the program's efficacy since the farm bill was last enacted in 2018.

I hope that we can use today's conversation as an opportunity to listen and learn from our producers and growers about what they need as we head into drafting the 2023 Farm Bill.

FACA supports the Agriculture Environmental Stewardship Act, a bill that provides an important tool to incentivize investments in climate-smart technologies.

But, basically saying to somebody that because you are struggling, because you are poor we are going to tell you what you can buy and what you can't buy.