Snap Benefits Are Needed By 42 Million Americans

Floor Speech

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Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I thank my wonderful, amazing, dedicated, committed colleague from Connecticut, who is today, as we say in Detroit, speaking truth to power when it comes to our most vulnerable in the United States.

We have heard over and over again that we are the richest country in the world. Even though we live in the richest country, millions of children live in poverty, lacking access to necessities like food, housing, and healthcare. It is shameful.

More than 44 million people in our country face hunger, including over 15 percent in one of the largest counties in my district, Wayne County. SNAP is an essential food assistance program that has been a key tool in combating hunger in our most vulnerable communities.

Now, my Republican colleagues want to cut this essential program that so many of our families rely on to feed their children. It is shameful. The GOP farm bill would make the largest cut to SNAP in nearly 30 years. The bill threatens $27 billion in SNAP benefits for low-income families. It is utterly shameful.

We must stand together strongly in support of expanding the social safety net and increasing funding programs for SNAP and other child nutrition programs. They are essential in creating healthy, thriving communities.

It is time to protect programs to combat hunger, not make extremist cuts. Working families in our country should not have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.

In this body, we see over and over again that we seem to find money for endless wars like this, but we can't seem to find the same resources to end child hunger in our country.

The first African-American woman ever to serve in our Congress was Shirley Chisholm. She used to say children can't learn if they are hungry.

Children should and must have access to SNAP benefits to experience long-term positive outcomes like better health, improved learning, and higher success as adults.

I don't think people realize the trauma of what the most vulnerable people among us go through in going to sleep hungry. Access to nutritious meals is essential for every child's health and development. We know this.

Why make these extremist cuts? We must continue to invest in universal school meals and so much more.

I am proud to cosponsor the Universal School Meals Program Act and proud to say to all my folks in the 12th Congressional District that I am not going to back down. I am not going to back down until we fully fund SNAP benefits.

Mr. Speaker, it is the least we can do in this Congress. It is not just our children. It is our disabled neighbors, our seasoned residents, our veterans, and working-class folks who are working hours and hours a day but still can't put food on the table. We must do better.

Mr. Speaker, I again thank my colleague from Connecticut for bringing us together today to discuss the importance of protecting SNAP.

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