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KEEPING FOOD ON AMERICANS' TABLES
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, last month, the House Agriculture Committee hosted its first, or at least more fulsome, attempt at publicly reviewing the pandemic and Congress' response.
This pandemic has infiltrated our lives in every sense possible. Unfortunately, the brunt of it was borne by our communities and, in particular, families already living paycheck to paycheck. In too many instances, arrogant career politicians issued statewide, indiscriminate edicts, forcing businesses and schools to shut their doors, plummeting our communities into a deep recession.
As the end of the pandemic nears, I hope we can use what we learned in that hearing to provide these families with more holistic services, particularly as they engage in a postpandemic economy that will look wildly different.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, currently provides nutrition assistance to 43 million individuals, with an average individual benefit of $183. Total SNAP-related spending in fiscal year 2020 was $78.9 billion, which includes benefits, administration, nutrition education, employment and training, and program integrity. Of that $78.9 billion, $74.2 billion was solely for benefits.
By way of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, more than $37.8 billion has been appropriated to respond to the supplemental nutrition assistance needs of our communities.
This monumental response is in addition to the more than $7.7 billion per month in standard SNAP benefits. Beyond direct funding from Congress, the former and current administrations have issued more than 4,000 administrative waivers to States. These waivers impact operations related to program eligibility, distribution of benefits, employment and training, and more.
These facts are startling. Combined with myriad social service policies, including those found in the shortsighted, outrageously naive American Rescue Plan, we are in the midst of our Nation's second-
largest expansion of entitlements.
Unsurprisingly, leading economists and Wall Street analysts have said key parts of that bill are poorly targeted to the specific needs of the crisis. As a friend in southwest Missouri recently said, unnecessary rescue diminishes a person's dignity and, if repeated enough, gives way to debilitating dependency.
The witnesses who joined us for the hearing are our everyday heroes. They are the folks who responded without hesitation to the needs of their communities infested by a pandemic that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of our friends, neighbors, and family members. Whether it be the farmer who chose to donate their crop or the food bank that opened additional sites to be more accommodating, the witnesses who testified deserve our thanks.
I must also applaud the Department, particularly the former administration. Like it or lump it, the bulk of the response originated in the last Congress under President Trump. Quick-
thinking folks implemented Pandemic-EBT and the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, two projects that remain remarkably beneficial to families in need.
The latter, apparently terminating this morning, as I found out through the press, fell victim to inconceivable criticism. There is always room for more solutions to the needs of our Nation.
The Farmers to Families Food Box Program had open eligibility, making certain anyone and everyone in need, regardless of status, income, or household size, has supplementary access to meat, dairy, and produce in an unprecedented time of crisis. This program provided more than 156 million boxes to households across the United States. With this program, farmers were able to redirect their products, and American workers were able to sustain their employment or join new ventures, all to ensure fresh foods found their way into the homes of millions in need.
Regardless of the cherry-picked hiccups this committee and USDA's listening sessions were made aware of, the program worked exactly as intended. Shamefully, and because this was the brainchild of President Trump, the Biden administration has decided again to ignore rural America and continue to fund programs that favor billion-dollar organizations in the cities that they serve.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 64
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