As the ranking minority member of the House Agriculture Committee’s Nutrition Subcommittee, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., lambasted the Republican-led 2018 Farm Bill as a “shameful” reduction or elimination of benefits to 2 million Americans.
“Last Thursday — just six days ago — was the first time I saw even one word of the nutrition title,” McGovern said at the Agriculture Committee’s markup of the Farm Bill on Wednesday. “To the best of my knowledge, it was the first time any Democrat on the Nutrition Subcommittee saw any of the language. Is that how this process is supposed to work, Mr. Chairman? How could any of you with a straight face, defend this process?”
McGovern, who said he had attended each of his committee’s 23 hearings on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the past 2½ years, said, “In the past, even when I haven’t been able to support some of the legislation that has advanced out of this committee, I have always had confidence in the process. I have had confidence that minority views were heard and considered — confidence that my views mattered. Mr. Chairman, you have completely turned that longstanding practice and tradition upside down. If it was the plan all along to use this Committee, and this Farm Bill, as one last-ditch effort at advancing Speaker Ryan’s flawed ‘welfare reform’ plan, then why did you — for 2½ years — parade all of these experts before this committee? Not a single one of our 90 witnesses suggested any of the controversial provisions have been included in this partisan Farm Bill. How could anybody in good conscience vote for this?”
McGovern, whose 2nd Congressional District includes 14 central and eastern Franklin County communities as well as Athol, said he was “deeply frustrated” by the process, adding, “I got on this committee to legislate, not to have my views ignored and not to merely sit here like a potted plant.”
The Associated Press reported last week that Democrats upset over the new food-stamp proposals had broken off talks over the proposal, which would require states to impose stricter uniform work requirements for SNAP recipients between 18 and 59.
Adults 18-59 are now required to work part-time or agree to accept a job if they’re offered one, according to AP. Stricter rules apply to able-bodied adults without dependents between the ages of 18 and 49, who are subject to a three-month limit of benefits unless they meet a work requirement of 80 hours per month. Under the new bill, that requirement would be expanded to apply to all work-capable adults, mandating that they either work or participate in work training for 20 hours per week with the exception of seniors, pregnant women, caretakers of children under age 6, or people with disabilities.
The bill cuts SNAP benefits by more than $20 million, McGovern said, and either reduces or eliminates benefits “for nearly 2 million kids, veterans, working families, and other vulnerable adults. It is shameful.”
The Worcester Democrat added, “I don’t know why SNAP has become such a political football for my friends on the other side of the aisle. We’re talking about real people, people who are struggling in this country. They deserve a hell of a lot better from the people on this committee and this Congress. This should stop now. Stop this markup and let’s get back to a bipartisan process that has been the tradition of this committee.”