Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) unveiled a new report summarizing the committee’s two-year review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Committee members heard from 60 witnesses in 16 hearings over the course of the review known as the Past, Present, and Future of SNAP. The report can be viewed here. SNAP has grown from a pilot program that served just 500,000 people in 1964 to a program that served more than 47 million Americans at the he...
Read more
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Over the course of the 114th Congress, we have heard from 55 witnesses at 15 different hearings in our series on the Past, Present and Future of SNAP. We have heard from witnesses discussing their experiences as SNAP recipients, from state agencies implementing SNAP across the country, from charitable partners that work with SNAP recipients, from innovative organizations receiving SNAP funding to help improve and target SNAP programs, from retailers who sell foo...
Read more
Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to evaluate the innovative strategies retailers are utilizing to improve access to nutritious food. Committee members heard from organizations that are working creatively to provide nutritious food to low-income individuals in low-access areas through online platforms and incentive programs. “Communities across the country have different needs when it comes to food access. Some individuals have access to a grocer on every street corner, while...
Read more
Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning and welcome to today’s Nutrition Subcommittee hearing. Thank you to everyone for being here and thank you, in particular, to our witnesses for your participation and valuable insights. We are continuing the series of hearings looking at the past, present, and future of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, by examining employment and training, or E&T, programs. While we know that a job is the surest way to get out of poverty, it ca...
Read more
Today, Rep. Jackie Walorski (IN-2), Chairwoman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, held a hearing to discuss the initiatives states are taking to further improve their SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) programs to help recipients transition into the workforce and obtain additional skills to increase their earnings. This hearing is a continuation of the committee’s top-to-bottom review known as the Past, Present, and Future of SNAP. Members heard from representatives from three o...
Read more
Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to discuss ways in which program integrity measures can be improved upon within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Members heard from a panel of witnesses who discussed what tools are used to report on quality control measures, the differences between error rates and fraud, what factors determine the reported rates, and how these measurements are used to better the program. This hearing is a continuation of the committee’s ...
Read more
Remarks as prepared for delivery: I want to welcome our witnesses to today’s hearing and thank them for taking the time to share their insight on how we can enhance program integrity within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This hearing, builds upon the committee’s top-to-bottom review of SNAP and I hope it will provide a greater understanding of efforts being made to ensure SNAP is run at the highest caliber. Americans generally support welfare programs to help those who have falle...
Read more
Remarks as prepared for delivery: I want to welcome our witnesses to today’s hearing and thank them for taking the time to share their impressive collaborative experience working to improve the diets and health among families across the country through nutrition education. This hearing, like those before, builds upon the committee’s top-to-bottom review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, so as the committee concludes our review, we will be positioned to make meaningful im...
Read more
Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition education programs in promoting positive long-term health outcomes within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Members heard from a panel of witnesses who discussed the history and evolution of SNAP-Ed, various program models, how SNAP-Ed complements and works with other nutrition education programs, and the efforts currently in place to ensure dollars spent on the program are used e...
Read more
Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX), Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) and 161 members sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Under Secretary Kevin Concannon. In the letter, they expressed their concerns regarding the Food and Nutrition Service’s (FNS) recently proposed rule to modify retailer eligibility requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The proposal extends beyond Con...
Read more
