Mr. Speaker. thank you for the opportunity to speak on this crucial issue. I strongly oppose the rule striking reauthorizing food stamps for legal immigrants in the United States. The rule that has been recommended would set up a ridiculous procedure which gives Republican opponents two extraordinary procedural mechanisms to kill the bill. Under this absurd procedure. the House will not even be allowed to debate the bipartisan conference report. even though the conference report has already been filed and has already been approved by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Senate. I vote to reauthorize food stamps for those who need them. We must restore food stamps to our 900.000 legal immigrants including farm workers. Food stamp recipients are refugees. the elderly. disabled Vietnam veterans and children who are facing food and nutritional deficiencies in larger and larger numbers. This year. approximately 600.000 U.S. citizen children with immigrant parents will have less food on their tables because of these cuts. Since food stamp access has been cut. a widening hunger crisis has emerged that private charities and State and local governments have not been able to handle. There simply have not been enough resources to feed all the hungry.
Keywords matched
refugees immigrant immigrants