M. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
George W. Bush left the country with an economy much worse off than the one he inherited from the Clinton Administration. Eight years after being handed record budget surpluses, President Bush passed onto President Obama an economy that has record budget deficits and is in the worse shape since the Great Depression.
Unemployment is rising - 55,000 more jobs were lost yesterday alone.
Wages are stagnating and work hours are being cut back.
People are having trouble making ends meet - including putting food on the table.
And that's where this recovery package steps in.
The provisions that make up the American Recovery and Reinvestment Package range from investments in infrastructure and green technology to extending unemployment for workers who have exhausted their benefits. We provide aid to struggling state governments and tax cuts for low- and middle-income families and small businesses.
These are good investments that will help reinvigorate our economy, and I look forward to voting for them tomorrow.
Some of the most important parts of this package are the anti-hunger provisions that will not only stimulate the economy, but will also help combat hunger in this country.
This recovery package includes $20 billion for the Food Stamp program; $200 million for elderly nutrition services, including Meals on Wheels and Congregate Meals; $726 million to increase the number of states that provide free healthy dinners to children in need; $150 million to purchase commodities for food banks to refill emptying shelves; and $100 million to improve state management information systems for the WIC program.
Food Stamp increases will reach about 14 million low-income households as soon as 25 days after enactment. About 90 percent of all food stamp households have income below the poverty line. In other words, these benefits are timely and targeted.
M. Speaker, it's important to note that every dollar in food stamps that a low-income family receives enables that family to spend an additional dollar on food or other items.
Don't just take my word for it, leading conservative economists support inclusion of these benefits in the recovery package.
Former Reagan Economic Advisor Martin Feldstein has said that a temporary food stamp increase would place resources in the pockets of people with a high propensity to spend quickly, rather than save, the limited income they have.
Mark Zandi, a former economic advisor to the McCain campaign, says that a temporary increase in food stamp benefits gives the best -- quote - -bang for the buck.- Specifically, he estimates that such an increase would generate $1.73 in increased economic activity for each $1.00 in cost.
M. Speaker, increasing Food Stamps is not charity - it's stimulus. It's not a hand-out or a give-away. But investments in anti-hunger programs do also fulfill our moral commitment to make sure our fellow citizens have enough to eat.
More than 36 million Americans went hungry in 2007, before the economy took this drastic spike downward. Yet the last stimulus plan signed into law didn't include any Food Stamp increases.
The fact that hunger remains a problem in America should make every single member in this chamber feel ashamed.
H.R. 1 gives us a chance to begin to solve this problem, and to prevent many more American families from slipping into hunger.
I urge my colleagues to support this package, and I yield back the balance of my time.
