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Reject the Republican Farm Bill

Floor Speech

Date: April 17, 2018
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Entitlements and the Safety Net

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the House Agriculture Committee will mark up the Republican farm bill. This incredibly partisan proposal was drafted in secret. Almost nothing in the bill reflects the 23 hearings our committee held on SNAP.

We heard from 90 experts, and not a single one of them, liberal or conservative, suggested eliminating State flexibility through broad- based categorical eligibility and worsening the benefit cliff.

Not a single one of them said to us: Kick 400,000 working families out of the program and 265,000 children off of free school meals.

Not a single one of them told us to add hurdles for families with heating and cooling costs, and not a single one suggested we kick vulnerable adults off of benefits when they can't find work.

Yet that is exactly what this bill does. The reckless Republican proposals in this bill cut SNAP benefits by over $20 billion, reducing or eliminating benefits for 2 million kids, veterans, working families, and other vulnerable adults.

Make no mistake, this bill will make hunger worse in our country. I plead with the Republican leadership of this House: Stop beating up on poor people.

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