WASHINGTON, DC— Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) today spoke out against a proposed bill that cuts nearly $40 billion over 10 years from the food stamp program known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The Congressional Budget Office estimates that H.R. 3102 will force 2.8 million people to lose their nutrition assistance and an additional 85,000 to see their assistance cut. Click here to watch the remarks. A full transcript of the Congressman’s remarks follows this release.
“In my Christian faith, the notion that we feed the hungry is unimpeachable and non-conditional,” said Himes in his remarks. “Matthew does not say ‘Feed the hungry, so long as you can do it with 100% efficiency.’ Mark does not say ‘Feed the hungry, so long as we pass the XL Pipeline.’ Luke does not say ‘Feed the hungry, so long as you loosen environmental regulations.’”
In addition to the deep cuts included in this bill, the law also calls for states to impose new work requirements on parents with young children or lose federal funding for job training programs and prohibits states from waiving work requirements for certain SNAP recipients when unemployment is high.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the defeat of this rule and of the underlying bill which will throw millions of Americans off of food stamps at a time when they need it. And I urge that on behalf of my constituent Jeanine Smalls, a 37-year-old, formerly homeless veteran with three children whom my office helped get on food stamps. I urge it on behalf of a semi--deity to the Republicans, Ronald Reagan, who said ‘As long as there is one person in the country who is hungry, that is one person too many.’ And I urge it on behalf of a real deity.
“Mr. Speaker, above our heads are the words ‘In God We Trust.’ In my Christian faith, the notion that we feed the hungry is unimpeachable and non-conditional. Matthew does not say ‘Feed the hungry, so long as you can do it with 100% efficiency.’ Mark does not say ‘Feed the hungry, so long as we pass the XL Pipeline.’ Luke does not say ‘Feed the hungry, so long as you loosen environmental regulations.’ Mr. Speaker, this rule and this bill – which is deeply, deeply flawed – must not pass.”