Political Quotes

“I am disappointed that with so many Americans struggling in difficult economic times, we are considering amendments that will greatly reduce the ability of the neediest among us to put food on the table for their families. The amendment numbered 810 filed by Senator Sessions would eliminate the ability of States to align the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, eligibility rules with the temporary assistance to needy families to reduce administrative costs and simply enrollment. Since 2008, Vermont has used categorical eligibility to reach more households and more needy individuals by simplifying enrollment. Reducing administrative costs and simplifying paperwork should be a goal we all share for Federal programs. But by adopting this amendment, about 1 million low-income Americans would lose their benefits and many more families that are newly eligible during these difficult economic times would have their benefits delayed because of the increased complexity of the additional processing time for applications. Low-income working families with children are the majority of those who would be affected by the elimination of categorical eligibility. Additionally, roughly 200,000 children in these families would lose access to free school meals.…”