Honoring Bill Moos

  Mr. BAUMGARTNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a former
Washington State University athletic director, Bill Moos, and highlight
his outstanding new book, ``Crab Creek Chronicles: From the Wheat
Fields to the Ball Fields and Beyond.''
  Bill Moos was a star football player for WSU in the early 1970s and
later took a job as the student assistant football coach in 1973. After
holding various jobs, he returned to WSU as the assistant athletic
director. His career skyrocketed after that as he became the athletic
director and oversaw the rise of two major universities, Montana and
Oregon.
  Bill was a storyteller shaped by the land of eastern Washington and a
family that has deep roots in both agriculture and politics. His new
book is a memoir of faith, family, and wonderful moments of the sport,
including the time that he brought my good friend and WSU legend Mike
Leach to the Palouse.
  Madam Speaker, I congratulate Bill on his many years of service to
Cougar athletics and in this exciting new chapter of his life--even in
retirement.
  Madam Speaker, I will also note that Bill Moos is a Cougar legend
that should be in the WSU Hall of Fame, and I look forward to seeing
him receive that distinct honor very soon.

                              {time}  1100
                     HUNGER IS NOT A POSITIVE TREND

  (Mr. Costa of California was recognized to address the House for 5
minutes.)
  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, as our Nation continues to commemorate our
250th anniversary, we are reminded that the ideals on which America was
founded are as critical today as they were then: a nation built on a
promise that every person has dignity and that no one should be left
behind--the land of opportunity.
  Last month, the House passed the Fiscal Year 2027 Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, funding for the USDA and other ancillary purposes.
  The bill cuts, unfortunately, the United States Department of
Agriculture's budget by more than $1 billion while farm bankruptcies
are increasing and rising costs to farmers as it relates to energy
costs, fertilizer costs, et cetera, are having a dramatic impact.
Certainly, in California, bankruptcies are up from last year by 44
percent. That is devastating.
  In the San Joaquin Valley, growers are already fighting rising costs,
volatile markets, and pest and disease threats. That is a normal part
of farming, but this doesn't meet the moment. It makes it harder. It
makes it harder because the USDA is part of a safety net for American
agriculture. For hungry families, it is even crueler. It takes food off
the table.
  I ask what it says about us, in this 250th anniversary that is
intended to commemorate the greatness of our country, that we are
stripping food from the most vulnerable Americans and calling it a
positive trend. Give me a break.
  Madam Speaker, 46 percent of Americans being cut from SNAP are
children--children, not criminals, not fraudsters. They are children.
Over 700,000 kids have already lost their food benefits, and that is
only in the 12 States currently reporting the child-level data. The
real number, I think, is far worse.
  We are talking about mothers stretching bags of groceries to the last
of the week and oftentimes making difficult choices between food or
medicine for their children.
  We are also talking about veterans who have served this country and
now have difficulty putting food on the table.
  We are talking about people with disabilities who have nowhere else
to turn.
  We are talking about our neighbors. They are Americans living during
the celebration of this 250th year of this Republic.
  A drop in enrollment has nothing to do with fraud or a stronger
economy. It has to do with people losing their benefits that they are
entitled to. Yet, many of my Republican colleagues cut SNAP and
nutrition assistance twice. They have done it twice, once in the big,
not so beautiful bill, in my view, and they have done it a second time
in this ag appropriations that was passed last month.
  Again, the Agriculture appropriations bill made this cut, as I said,
5.6 percent, or another $6 billion below last year's enacted measure.
On top of that, they are cutting fruit and vegetable benefits from the
Women, Infants, and Children's program--fruits and vegetables, healthy
aspects of our diet.
  It makes no sense why we are making it harder for families in
underserved communities to put fresh, healthy food on the table. I
voted ``no'' on that bill.
  My district in the San Joaquin Valley in California has some of the
most vital, richest agricultural production anywhere in the country or
the world, yet we have a significant amount of people who are food
insecure. Almost 30 percent of households in my congressional district
rely at some time or another on SNAP. It is one of the highest ratios
in the State.
  Most of these households include a child, a senior, or a person on
disability. These families are not living large, believe me. They are
barely surviving.
  Madam Speaker, in this 250th year of America, I think we should be
lifting people up and not taking food off their dinner tables because
food in America is a national security issue, as I like to say. It is
an international security issue when we look at food hunger around the
globe and cuts that have

taken place in USAID that were devastating, to make but one of those
examples.
  Our Founders did not build this Nation so that two and a half
centuries later we would be debating whether or not hungry children
deserve to eat.
  The farm bill on the Senate side gives us another chance, and I ask
that we reconsider the SNAP payments on that farm bill in September.
  Fraud is a crime, but hunger is not. Let us honor the values of this
anniversary.

                        REMEMBERING LYLE KEENAN

  (Mr. Guest of Mississippi was recognized to address the House for 5
minutes.)
  Mr. GUEST. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and remember the life
and legacy of John Lyle Keenan of Jasper County, Mississippi.
  Mr. Keenan was a respected law enforcement officer and a devoted
husband, father, grandfather, friend, and neighbor whose service and
character left a lasting mark on his community.
  Born in Rose Hill, Mississippi, Mr. Keenan graduated from Heidelberg
High School in 1964. He began his career at La-Z-Boy in Newton before
entering public service as a deputy with the Jasper County Sheriff's
Department.
  In 1977, he joined the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries,
and Parks as a conservation officer, where he served with distinction
for more than three decades. While serving at the Department of
Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, he rose to the rank of captain for
District IV before retiring in 2010.
  Two years later, the Jasper County Board of Supervisors appointed him
as interim sheriff, and he concluded his law enforcement career as a
bailiff for the circuit court.
  Mr. Keenan's dedication to public service extended well beyond his
official duties. He was deeply committed to the stewardship of
Mississippi's natural resources, and he served as Jasper County
director of the Pat Harrison Waterway District. He also held leadership
roles as president of the Jasper County Farm Bureau, the Jasper County
Soil and Water Commission, the Meridian Stockyard board of directors,
and the Mississippi Pork Producers Association. He remained active in
numerous civic and agricultural organizations, including the Jasper
County Forestry Association, the Jasper County Livestock Association,
and the Bay Springs Lions Club.
  Mr. Keenan was widely regarded as a man of honor and integrity, and
many sought his counsel on both personal and professional matters, a
testament to the trust he earned throughout his life. He was a faithful
member of Wesley Independent Methodist Church, where he lived out the
values that guided his service.
  Mr. Keenan will be deeply missed, not only by his family, but by the
entire Jasper County community.
  It is a privilege to recognize his life, his service, and his
enduring commitment to the people of Mississippi.