ICYMI: McDonald Rivet Defends Food Assistance for Children
“What is the percentage of America's kids we’re OK being hungry? ... In one of the strongest, richest countries in the world, that number needs to be 0.”
WASHINGTON— Today, during a hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08) slammed efforts to cut funding for food assistance programs – specifically, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The budget proposal House Republicans passed in February included $230 billion in cuts to programs under the Agriculture Committee’s purview – a substantial portion of these cuts would come from SNAP. In mid-Michigan, there are approximately 148,000 individuals across over 59,000 households who rely on SNAP benefits to afford to eat.
At the hearing, Congresswoman McDonald Rivet said, in part, “In my state … on a daily basis 20% of our kids are wondering where their next meal is coming from. At the same time, we have seen cuts to the operational grants to our food banks; we have had food delivery in our communities halted; a $1 billion cut to the school food program; and now we're looking at $220 billion of cuts to SNAP …
“And it seems to me that we are in a place right now as a country that we have to think about whether or not a better America includes a tolerance for hungry children. Because that's what this is actually about. What is the percentage of America's kids we’re OK being hungry? Is that number 20%, where we sit now? … Because I can tell you for me, in one of the strongest, richest countries in the world, that number needs to be 0, and we are not moving in that direction.”
You can find a full video of the Congresswoman’s remarks here and today’s hearing here.