End Hunger Now

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, any mom or dad knows that being a parent is a lifetime job. It doesn't end when your kids are 18 and it certainly doesn't end when they are 7.

That is why I was horrified when a Republican colleague of mine on the Agriculture Committee introduced a bill last week to kick parents with kids over the age of 7 and older adults, ages 50-65, off SNAP by imposing harsh new work requirements.

Let's be clear about who this would penalize: grandparents raising grandchildren, folks who can't work full-time because childcare is too expensive, and single moms and dads struggling to make ends meet.

Over 10 million people--1 in 4 SNAP recipients--live in households that would be at risk of losing food assistance under this bill, including 4 million children.

When we kick parents off SNAP, we make it harder for them to feed their children. It is as simple as that.

We have a chance to increase access to healthy and locally grown food by funding SNAP and passing a farm bill with a robust nutrition title.

Let's focus on helping families put food on the table instead of trying to figure out ways to make life harder for working parents.

Let's all commit to ending hunger now.

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