•HRES 90 IH 
Whereas hunger is a serious threat to individual dignity, pro-
ductivity, learning, economic prosperity, health, and de-
velopment; 
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 indi-
vidual 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 approxi-
mately $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, in-
cluding 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) sys-
tems; 
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 esti-
mated to create or maintain 18,000 full-time equivalent 
jobs, including 3,000 farm jobs; 
Whereas in the 112th Congress, the Committee on Agri-
culture of the House of Representatives reported H.R. 
6083, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Manage-
ment 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 cat-
egorical eligibility (Cat El) option, for the standard util-
ity allowance (SUA)-Low Income Home Energy Assist-
ance Program (LIHEAP) connection (‘‘heat and eat’’), 
and for the State performance fund (‘‘performance bo-
nuses’’); 
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 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that in this Congress the Committee on Agri-
culture should not propose any reduction in the availability 
or amount of benefits provided under the supplemental nu-
trition 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. 
Æ 
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