The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“USDA RULE CHANGE WILL KICK MILLIONS OFF SNAP” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H7248-H7249 on July 24, 2019.
The Department is primarily focused on food nutrition, with assistance programs making up 80 percent of its budget. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department implements too many regulations and restrictions and impedes the economy.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
USDA RULE CHANGE WILL KICK MILLIONS OFF SNAP
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the administration's proposal, its recent attack on some of the most vulnerable Americans, the 38 million people who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP.
The USDA, United States Department of Agriculture, announced yesterday a rule change to the eligibility for the program. This change would kick millions of Americans--seniors, children, and their families--off a program that provides critical assistance. It is a safety net.
This change would weaken our ability to provide support for working people who are struggling to get by month to month.
It would have a huge impact in my district. Unfortunately, 25 percent of my constituents depend upon the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program monthly to provide nutrition for themselves and their families.
As a member of the conference committee that negotiated the 2018 farm bill, these suggestions were a part of the discussion. We opposed them. We fought successfully to include expanded SNAP eligibility requirements, and Congress agreed.
That is why I fought to expand the employment and training programs that we do in SNAP in the Fresno Bridge Academy, to equip recipients with the necessary tools to get back on their feet, to make them self-
sufficient. That is what we should be doing.
Guess what: The President supported it when he signed the farm bill into law last December. He needs to remain consistent.
I will fight for families, for seniors, and for children. The bottom line is this: SNAP is a helpful program to support people in their time of need with achieving self-sufficiency. It is part of America's safety net.
We must block this egregious attempt to administratively do what Congress did not do last December.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand with me and oppose this attack on some of our Nation's most vulnerable populations.
Highlighting the Achievements of the House in the Last 6 Months
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I call to the attention of the House of Representatives what we have achieved in the last 6 months, many of these pieces of legislation on a bipartisan basis.
We have passed 10 bills to reduce the price of healthcare; lower prescription drugs costs, which our communities want us to do; and strengthen protections for people with preexisting conditions--reducing the cost of drugs and strengthening protections for preexisting conditions to protect those individuals.
We passed the Equality Act to ensure that every American enjoys the same rights and is protected equally under the law. The Equality Act is so important.
I fought to improve our water infrastructure, to address the strain on this precious resource brought by drought and climate change to ensure that we have clean, safe drinking water for all of our communities.
In the San Joaquin Valley, sadly, we have many communities that don't enjoy clean, safe drinking water standards.
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I have worked hard to implement the farm bill, to lead education and outreach programs for farm programs to help farmers improve not only their water sustainability, but their ability to market their crops.
In immigration, we have passed the funding bills to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis at our border and advanced legislation to secure a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States; our Dreamers, over 800,000, who came here through no choice of their own, and for them America is the only country they have ever known. They need and deserve legal status.
I am proud that, in the last 6 months of work, this week we will consider H.R. 3239, the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in Customs and Border Protection Custody Act.
Many of us have been to the borders, and we do have a humanitarian crisis there, and we need to do what is right. We need to ensure that those individuals receive good standards of water, beds, and access to healthcare, and that they are treated humanely. That is the American way. These are basic living standards.
Finally, the budget deal that was agreed to on a bipartisan basis over the weekend is important, not only as it relates to our discretionary and non-discretionary spending for the next 2 years lifting the budget cap, but in addition to that, to ensuring that we produce a budget on time; that we avoid a government shutdown; that we ensure that our men and women serving in American Armed Forces have the adequate funding that they need; that our veterans get the support and our VA hospitals that we have promised them.
These are the things that are part of an overall budget deal. It avoids the kind of circus that we had over the last year where we had a government shutdown, a government shutdown we should never have. We should never have that impact on our economy; our Federal workers to be expected--whether they be in air traffic control or food safety--to go to work and not to receive a check. That is irresponsible.
So the budget deal is good. It is a bipartisan effort. It, frankly, gives the sort of discretion that Congress needs to make budget decisions to prioritize our needs in America.
So, for that, I thank the Congress.
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