We say we cannot do it. but we give ourselves a salary increase. Mr. President. most poignantly of all. or at least most poignant to me. we voted not long ago for some $50 billion in deficit reduction. and the two major programs that we targeted were. first. the Food Stamp Program. which is the major safety net program in this country when it comes to nutrition for children. and second. benefits for legal immigrants. Now. we have restored some of the benefits. though. again. we still have eliminated food and nutrition assistance for legal immigrants. and by the year 2002 there will be a 20 percent cut in food assistance for children. Over 50 percent of the cuts we have made come from the Food Stamp Program. which is the major food nutrition program in this country and is our major safety net program. This is the program that has led to a significant reduction in malnutrition and hunger among children. and yet we said that in the name of sacrifice and in the name of deficit reduction and in the name of tightening our belt that we would cut the major nutrition programs for children in America. and at the same time we are now about to vote for a conference report that gives ourselves a salary increase. putting our salaries over $136.000 a year.
Keywords matched
immigrants