the house will be an order the chair lays before the house communication from the speaker the speaker's room's washington d c may fifteenth two thousand and seven i hereby appoint the honorable jim costa to act as speaker pro temporary on this day signed nancy pelosi speaker of the house of representatives pursuant to the order of the house january fourth two thousand and seven the chair one i'll members from the left submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate the chair will alter night recognition between the parties and each party limited to thirty minutes in each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five minutes mr speaker this week i am joined by three of my esteemed colleagues congressman jo ann emerson from missouri congressman tim ryan from ohio and congresswoman jan schakowsky from illinois and taking the food stamp challenge the food stamp challenge is an initiative begun by nonprofit and religious community groups public officials agreed to live on a food stamp budget for one week in order to raise awareness of the food stamp pro graham and the inadequacy of the current benefit under the food stamp challenge we will only be allowed to eat food totaling twenty one dollars for the week three dollars a day or one dollar per meal which is the national average food stamp benefit in other words no l starbucks no organic chicken at home and no wine or shrimp at reception this week yesterday congresswoman emerson and i went grocery shopping at the capitol hill safeway for the week however she was a more efficient shopper than i was well she made us through the checkout line at thirty minutes it took me almost an hour and a half to find food that fit my budget and that was even with the much appreciated assistance  recipients who assisted my wife lisa and me with our shopping oregon governor ted kulongoski successfully took the challenge with his wife a few weeks ago and utah governor jon huntsman jr is currently living on a food stamp budget with his household of eight in new york city where over one million people depend on food stamps each month new york city councilman eric goya is participating in the food stamp challenge this diverse group of public leaders who all feel compelled to take on this challenge demonstrates the importance of the food stamp program for all americans from california to massachusetts michigan to texas republican and democrat urban and rural the food stamp program represents the moral values of america compassion thoughtfulness and community spirit mr speaker i am taking this food stamp challenge as a way of saying that as americans we need to do more to eliminate hunger poverty in this country one in nine u s households nearly thirty six million americans does not consistently have enough food to feed themselves or their families according to the u s department of agriculture there is no excuse for this and the wealthiest country on earth it is not about finding the resources it is about must bring the political will a stablished in one hundred thirty nine the food stamp program helps families in need buy food so that they do not have to make difficult choices such as choosing between paying a utility bill addressing health care needs or buying food it truly is the safety net for america's hungry despite what some critics like to say the food stamp program is not a government handout but it is a true safety net program that provides access to food for people who cannot afford to choose between rent medicine childcare and transportation gone are the days of the end efficient program ravaged by fraud wast national journal recently named the food stamp program as one of the government's top successes and the g a o as repeatedly reported on the successes of this important program mr speaker let me take a moment to share with you who benefits from the food stamp program according to u s d a over twenty six million people benefited from the program from the food stamp program last year including four hundred fifty two thousand individuals from my state of massachusetts over eighty percent of food stamp benefits go to families with children one in five food stamp households has an elderly family member and one in four has a disabled member increasingly working families must rely on food stamps to supplement their wages in low paying jobs some may question the motives of elected officials taking this one week challenge these these critics mr speaker are missing the point it's time for a much greater public debate to take place around this issue it is time to end hunger in america and we can do so starting by focusing on the food stamp program the food stamp program is our government's first line of defense against hunger imelda true and it should be better equipped to accomplish that task nearly sixty percent of those who are eligible to receive food stamps currently do and in massachusetts epa to cerate that participation rate is only forty nine percent the participation rate is particularly low for immigrants and the elderly last week congresswoman emerson and i introduced h r twenty one twenty nine the feeding america's families act which would greatly improve the food stamp program as well as other federal hunger and nutrition programs schedule for reauthorization  bill we encourage each of our colleagues to consider co sponsoring this important piece of legislation there's a speaker although some judge the health of our nation by how the wealthiest of fairing others including myself believe we must measure the morality and prosperity of our society by the status of mobility of those at the bottom of the economic ladder through this challenge i hope my constituents the american people and my colleagues in washington d c will learn more about the vital