Patrick Leahy: “my point is that we have seen some great changes in the Food Stamp Program, some very significant improvements, over the…”

“my point is that we have seen some great changes in the Food Stamp Program, some very significant improvements, over the years. We have seen other improvements that we wait to come forth, like the use of electronic benefit transfer. I have been very proud to work very closely with the now chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and, before that, the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, the senior Senator from Indiana, in making these improvements. They have saved a lot of money. I also point out that the Food Stamp Program is extremely important. During the last administration, 40,000 to 45,000 people were added every single week in the 4 years President Bush was President--40,000 to 45,000 every single week for 4 years were added. That is, in over 200 weeks they were added to the food stamp rolls. Let me just remind my friend from New Mexico and others about this. When we talk about whether this program is utilized in a Republican or Democratic administration, it is a program for everybody. During the Bush administration, every single week, because of the way the economy was, 40,000 people were added, at the taxpayers' expense, to the food stamp rolls. We have been fortunate with the efforts to balance the budget and improve the economy, and since President Clinton came in, 2 million people have been able to drop from the food stamp rolls, as compared to 40,000 people a week being added in the 200 weeks during the past administration.”