E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 158 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2012 No. 55 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was would choose to highlight the scourge hunger bill. In 2010 it cost every citizen called to order by the Speaker pro tem- of hunger with its first documentary. $542 due to the far-reaching con- pore (Mr. FLEISCHMANN). That’s because food is at the heart of sequences of hunger in our Nation. At f the problem. the household level, the hunger bill While 435 Members of Congress and came to at least $1,410 in 2010. And be- DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO 100 Senators will never have to worry cause our $167.5 billion estimate is TEMPORE about going hungry, there are nearly 49 based on a cautious methodology, the The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- million people who struggle each year actual cost of hunger and food insecu- fore the House the following commu- to put food on their table; 17 million rity to our Nation is probably higher.’’ nication from the Speaker: kids each year go hungry in America, That’s a lot of money—$167.5 billion. WASHINGTON, DC, and those numbers are getting worse, It’s a staggering amount. Yet, we con- April 17, 2012. not better. tinue to ignore those costs and allow I hereby appoint the Honorable CHARLES J. The Food Network aired this docu- hunger to grow in America. FLEISCHMANN to act as Speaker pro tempore mentary because of the hard work of We know that hunger would be even on this day. good people at Share Our Strength. Led worse in this country if it weren’t for JOHN A. BOEHNER, programs like the Supplemental Nutri- Speaker of the House of Representatives. by my good friend, Billy Shore, Share Our Strength is a leader in the fight to tional Assistance Program, or SNAP, f end child hunger, and this effort the school meal programs and other MORNING-HOUR DEBATE wouldn’t be where it is today without Federal anti-hunger programs. These programs are literally a lifeline for The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- them. We have more than enough food in millions of hungry children, parents, ant to the order of the House of Janu- and seniors. America to feed everyone. We also have ary 17, 2012, the Chair will now recog- I believe that we can end hunger in nize Members from lists submitted by the delivery systems to ensure that America if we muster the political will the majority and minority leaders for food gets to those people who need it. to do so. Fighting hunger has tradi- morning-hour debate. The problem is politics. We have the tionally been a bipartisan effort. Un- The Chair will alternate recognition means, the food, and the programs to fortunately, the Republican leadership between the parties, with each party ensure that not one person goes with- in this House is pushing an agenda that limited to 1 hour and each Member out food in this country. will actually make hunger worse in other than the majority and minority What we lack, Mr. Speaker, is the po- America. leaders and the minority whip limited litical will to actually make it happen. Tomorrow the Agriculture Com- to 5 minutes each, but in no event shall We should remember that while there mittee will mark up legislation that debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. is a cost to ending hunger, the cost of cuts $33 billion from the most impor- f doing nothing is so much more. Ac- tant anti-hunger program we have in cording to a report from the Center for this country. SNAP is a program that HUNGER HITS HOME American Progress and Brandeis Uni- not only provides food to low-income The SPEAKER pro tempore. The versity, hunger costs America more parents, seniors, and children; it also Chair recognizes the gentleman from than $261 billion each year. That’s bil- provides a most effective form of eco- Massachusetts (Mr. MCGOVERN) for 5 lion with a ‘‘b.’’ nomic stimulus, and it actually re- minutes. Specifically, hunger costs ‘‘at least duces poverty. Mr. MCGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, this $167.5 billion due to the combination of Yet, the Republican leadership con- past Saturday the Food Network lost economic productivity per year, tinues to demagogue the program as premiered their first-ever documentary more expensive public education be- wasteful, as fraudulent, and as some- called ‘‘Hunger Hits Home.’’ This pow- cause of the rising costs of poor edu- thing that is growing out of control. erful program showed the struggle that cation outcomes, avoidable health care But nothing could be further from the millions of Americans go through just costs, and the cost of charity to keep truth. In fact, SNAP is among the most to put food on their tables. I urge my families fed. This $167.5 billion does not effective and efficient Federal pro- colleagues, indeed, all Americans, to include the cost of the Supplemental grams. The truth is that the SNAP watch it by going to foodnetwork.com Nutrition Assistance Program and the error rate is around 3 percent. That and searching for ‘‘Hunger Hits Home.’’ other key Federal nutrition programs, error rate includes people who do not It’s fitting that the Food Network, a which run at about $94 billion a year. receive the benefit that they’re actu- cable network that focuses on cooking, We call this $167.5 billion America’s ally entitled to. I challenge anyone to b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H1849 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:28 Apr 18, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A17AP7.000 H17APPT1 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H1850 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 17, 2012 find me a Defense Department program years, started a small business when he plex, and inefficient. It costs over $160 with an error rate as low as 3 percent. got out of the Marine Corps, and made billion a year for Americans just to I look forward to the time when the the decision that, you know what, he comply with the Tax Code. Republican leadership stops using hun- wants to go continue to serve and pro- The path forward should be simple. ger as a wedge issue and lets this be- tect his country. First, we should stop making the code come a bipartisan issue once again. Now, I flew missions with Uzi. He was more complex, which, sadly, the Re- I understand that we need to balance on board my aircraft as we went down publican plan working its way forward the budget, Mr. Speaker. But must it and we assisted Border Patrol. And the will do with $50 billion of additional be on the backs of the poor and the one thing Uzi said to me is, Congress- unfocused tax breaks. At least if we’re most vulnerable in our country? man, look, we’re out here every day in going to borrow another $50 billion ‘‘Hunger Hits Home,’’ this wonderful the heat and the sweltering sun trying from the Chinese, we should use it to film, shows us the problem facing this to continue to protect this country. fund job-creating infrastructure. For Nation. The challenge is presented to Make sure you give us what we need instance, that $50 billion would enable us. Are we going to end hunger once here. us to fund a multiyear transportation and for all or not? And when you hear the stories about reauthorization. So far the answer from the Repub- how hamstrung they are from actually We should also repeal the pernicious lican leadership is a resounding ‘‘no,’’ enforcing the border, and how there are alternative minimum tax. It was once and I regret very much that decision. many tools available to them that designed as a tax on very rich people Mr. Speaker, hunger is a political they’re not allowed to use, it’s actually who didn’t pay taxes. Today, no bil- condition. If we muster the political pretty sad. lionaire hedge fund manager pays the will, we can end it once and for all. Now, look. We want to be a Nation of alternative minimum tax. Instead, it falls on upper middle-income families, f immigration. We want to be a Nation of legal immigration. But one thing we especially those who pay a lot of taxes. SECURING OUR BORDERS Every year we find some creative don’t want to be is a Nation that wakes way to avoid the consequence of it not The SPEAKER pro tempore. The up one day and finds out that there was being indexed for inflation. Every year Chair recognizes the gentleman from another terrorist attack in a major we find some way to have a fix, to have Illinois (Mr. KINZINGER) for 5 minutes. United States city and that, poten- Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois. Mr. a patch to avoid the alternative min- tially, that weapon of mass destruction imum tax’s full impact. Unless some- Speaker, I want to just say before I ac- or those terrorists actually came in tually get started, we just saw the how there is a complete breakdown in through an unsecure border with Mex- the political process, which, sadly, is space shuttle fly over on the back of a ico.