Political Quotes

“My colleague, the gentlewoman from Connecticut, has been a champion on this issue, and I am so glad she has convened us here tonight. Over 41 million Americans depend on nutrition assistance to feed themselves and their families, and SNAP benefits reach millions of rural Americans every day. No State, no community, and no Congressional District in our Nation is immune to hunger and food insecurity. Paradoxically, in rural areas that grow most of our Nation's food, many households face real struggles with hunger. It is not just in metropolitan areas. We know poverty is the root cause of hunger, and it is often acute in rural communities, like in my home State of Vermont, with 15 percent of households in rural areas facing food insecurity. Millions of working families, veterans, people with disabilities, seniors, and children in rural communities cannot always afford enough food to keep themselves and their families healthy. Simply put, too many Americans are going hungry every day, but we have a vital program that actually helps to address this problem, the SNAP program. It provides monthly benefits to low-income families and individuals to help them to buy food. The Republicans' attack, and it is just the latest attack on this essential program, would slash the program by $30 billion over the next decade. If enacted, the bill would make the largest cuts to SNAP benefits in 30 years at a time when we have gross wealth inequality in this country.…”