Press Releases

Mr. Chairman, there are important parts of this Farm Bill that will impact Massachusetts and New England. The dairy, conservation, and specialty crop provisions are especially critical for the part of the country I represent and I strongly support full and robust dairy, conservation, and specialty crop provisions in the final conference report.

I’m also pleased to see that both the House and Senate included language to close the animal fighting spectator loophole. Both bills would prohibit knowingly attending an animal fight or bringing a child to an animal fight. I urge my colleagues to support these provisions.

I’d like to spend my remaining time on the issue of hunger.  I remind my colleagues that no matter what we do with this farm bill, a $5 billion cut in SNAP will automatically go into effect in just two days.  On average, this cut will mean a reduction in the monthly SNAP benefit of about $30 for a family of three.  That’s about 16 fewer meals per month.

We have a hunger problem in this country.  It’s not fashionable to talk about it, it’s not a comfortable conversation to have, but it’s a fact.  50 million Americans struggle every single day to get enough to eat.  And it is hard to be poor.  Very hard.

We must not make a bad situation even worse by piling on even deeper cuts.

The House bill would do just that by cutting $40 billion from our most important and effective program that helps millions of Americans put food on the table.

The House bill would result in 3 to 4 million hungry people being removed from SNAP altogether; about 200,000 kids would lose access to free school meals; and 170,000 veterans would lose access to SNAP.

These are more than just statistics.  Behind every number is a human being – a child or a senior or a neighbor who’s struggling, and who needs this modest benefit. 

And let me remind every Member of this Conference Committee that outside of children and seniors, the majority of able-bodied adults receiving SNAP do work.  But they make so little that they still need help to put food on their tables. It’s unconscionable and unacceptable that we would make their lives more difficult.

Let’s be absolutely clear:  the House bill will make hunger worse in America. Like everyone else on this conference committee, I want to see a robust, comprehensive Farm Bill. I am willing to be flexible.  I am willing to compromise.  But I will not support a Farm Bill that makes hunger worse.  None of us should.

I yield back the balance of my time.