Speaker. this Member rises in reluctant support of the conference report for S. 1150. the Agricultural Research Bill. This Member is voting for the conference report because of the urgent need for crop insurance and the importance of agricultural research. However. this Member is strongly opposed to the provision in the bill that reinstates food stamp benefits for legal immigrants. Two years ago. we finally passed major legislation that ended welfare as we knew it. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 contained a provision that barred most legal immigrants from the Food Stamp program. and we need to remember that immigrants are sponsored by American citizens who have agreed to take financial responsibility for their needs during the naturalization process. Too many sponsors have failed in their responsibility. This Member is strongly opposed to the reinstatement of food stamps for legal immigrants that was added to the bill during conference. However. the need to approve crop insurance funding has reached a critical point. Funding is necessary so that our nations farmers have in place a safety net to protect them against the natural disasters which are a constant threat.
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naturalization immigrants