IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 90 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Committee 

on Agriculture should not propose any reduction in the availability or 

amount of benefits provided under the supplemental nutrition assistance 

program (SNAP) in effect under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, 

and that the House of Representatives should reject any proposed legislation that includes any provisions that reduce the availability or amount 

of benefits provided under SNAP. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2013 

Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, and Mr. DEUTCH) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the Committee on Agriculture should not propose any 

reduction in the availability or amount of benefits provided under the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) in effect under the Food and Nutrition 

Act of 2008, and that the House of Representatives 

should reject any proposed legislation that includes any 

provisions that reduce the availability or amount of benefits provided under SNAP. 


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•HRES 90 IH 

Whereas hunger is a serious threat to individual dignity, productivity, learning, economic prosperity, health, and development; 

Whereas food insecurity means that people face an ongoing 

struggle against hunger; 

Whereas 50.1 million people lived in food insecure households 

in 2011; 

Whereas the supplemental nutrition assistance program 

(SNAP), established in the Food and Nutrition Act of 

2008, is the nation’s first line of defense against hunger 

and food insecurity; 

Whereas SNAP served more than 47.5 million individuals in 

October 2012; 

Whereas half of all new SNAP participants receive benefits 

for 10 months or less and 74 percent of such participants 

left the program entirely within 2 years; 

Whereas the average SNAP household has income slightly 

less than 59 percent of the applicable poverty level, and 

83 percent of all benefits go to households with a child, 

elderly individual, or disabled individual; 

Whereas the SNAP benefits average less than $1.50 per individual per meal; 

Whereas 83 percent of families on SNAP make less than 

$24,000 a year for a family of 4; 

Whereas the average SNAP benefit per household is approximately $267 per month; 

Whereas SNAP participation rises when the economy is 

weak; 

Whereas millions of Americans need to turn to SNAP as a 

way to feed themselves and their families; 


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•HRES 90 IH 

Whereas SNAP would have lifted 3.9 million Americans, including 1.7 million children, out of poverty in 2011 if its 

benefits were included in the official measures of income 

and poverty; 

Whereas SNAP is an efficient public-private partnership that 

runs on the regular channels of commerce—regular retail 

food stores and electronic benefit transfer (EBT) systems; 

Whereas SNAP achieved the highest level of overall payment 

accuracy in the history of the program at 96.2 percent; 

Whereas the national overpayment error rate, defined as the 

percentage of SNAP benefit dollars issued in excess of 

the amounts for which households are eligible, fell to 2.99 

percent; 

Whereas the national underpayment error rate, defined as the 

percentage of SNAP benefit dollars issued that are lower 

than the amounts for which households are eligible, was 

less than 1.0 percent; 

Whereas every dollar in new SNAP benefits generates up to 

$1.79 in economic activity; 

Whereas each $1 billion increase in SNAP benefits is estimated to create or maintain 18,000 full-time equivalent 

jobs, including 3,000 farm jobs; 

Whereas in the 112th Congress, the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives reported H.R. 

6083, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM), which proposed to reauthorize 

SNAP; 

Whereas the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated 

that H.R. 6083 as reported would cut SNAP by $16.5 

billion over 10 years; 


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•HRES 90 IH 

Whereas H.R. 6083 would cut SNAP provisions for the categorical eligibility (Cat El) option, for the standard utility allowance (SUA)-Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) connection (‘‘heat and eat’’), 

and for the State performance fund (‘‘performance bonuses’’); 

Whereas Cat El, heat and eat, and performance bonuses help 

States provide SNAP benefits to needy people through 

streamlined procedures that cut down on red tape and 

minimize State administrative expenses; and 

Whereas congregations, food banks, and other charities are 

struggling to meet existing elevated need and would be 

unable to meet the significant increase in need that 

would be caused by cuts in SNAP of the kinds provided 

in H.R. 6083 as reported in the 112th Congress by the 

Committee on Agriculture: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that in this Congress the Committee on Agri3 culture should not propose any reduction in the availability 

4 or amount of benefits provided under the supplemental nu5 trition assistance program (SNAP) in effect under the 

6 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, and that the House of 

7 Representatives should reject any proposed legislation that 

8 includes any provisions that reduce the availability or 

9 amount of benefits provided under SNAP. 

Æ 


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