Date: 2013-06-19
Speaker: DAVID SCOTT (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Chairman. this is one of the most terrible amendments that has ever been brought before this House of Representatives. It goes against the very grain of what America is about. I dont care if youre rich. I dont care if youre poor. I dont care if youre in the service. I dont care if you have to have SNAP. You are an American. And Americans today if theyre tired of one thing. theyre tired of the government prying into their lives under surveillance thats happening right now on the 6 oclock news. in our major papers. The one thing is the mistrust of a governmentsurveillance program. This has everything to do with surveillance. Thats exactly what it is. Its a food surveillance program from my good friend. Mr. TOM MARINO. What this will doyou tell me if it isntit will require retail food stores to monitor. to put in a surveillance system. to collect and report back to the Secretary of Agriculture detailed information that identifies what food items. what type. what size of purchase by those who are on SNAP. This isnt about SNAP. Youve gone into the grocery stores. Everybody goes into that grocery store as an American to purchase. to buy the food. the basic things that he needs to survive. You cant put surveillance on the SNAP person without putting surveillance on every American that goes into that store. How asinine such an amendment this is in this eagerness of this declaring of war on SNAP recipients. We are declaring a war on the soul of America itself. And I dont care if youre liberal. I dont care if youre moderate or you are conservative. Every American ought to be concerned about this. Youre not going to be able to put a surveillance program over what the SNAP folks get without putting a surveillance program over all Americans. Just think about how big our system is. and the statistics bear it out. Right now. there are 460.000 different items on the market shelves. There are 15.000 new ones going on every year. Whats going to happen there? And for the consumers. theres going to be a cost. Yes. theres going to be a cost. These retailers dont go and print money and make it. Do you know who is going to pay for the cost of this surveillance program that is unneeded? Its going to be the customers. And so. ladies and gentlemen. and with all due respect to the gentleman. let us ease this war against the poorest who are among us. I remind everybody every day that the fastest growing group of recipients who are receiving benefits from food stamps are our veterans. the very ones whove gone and put their lives on the line. who come back maimed. that have to depend on food stamps. who went and fought overseas so we could be free from surveillance. and heres an amendment that wants to put surveillance on them. Lets look at this and see it for what it is. It is an awful surveillance program. And I have respect for the gentleman. but this amendment is totally misguided and does great damage to the heart and the soul of this Nation. because you cannot discriminate going into those grocery stores against the poor recipient of SNAP without discriminating and taking away the freedoms of every single American. I yield back the balance of my time.