Today, Congressman David Scott (GA-13) delivered the following statement strongly opposing proposed cuts to the SNAP program during today’s full House Agriculture Committee hearing on the 2018 Farm Bill.
Click below to watch videos of Congressman Scott’s remarks:
Part 1 - Scott Statement on Mean, Un-American Farm Bill.
Part 2 - Scott remarks on Farm Bill failing beginning farmers and 1890s African American Land Grant colleges & universities.
Part 3 - Scott remarks on SNAP Facts.
“Thank you Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman I have served in this committee for 15 years. I have traveled the world with this committee, so my dearest friends are on this committee. But Mr. Chairman, this is absolutely without question the most terrible farm bill that we’ve ever had.
“This farm bill is mean, hurtful, deceitful, un-American, and filled with racial vicissitudes. There is absolutely no way that we as a Congress, representing this great nation, of people from all walks of life, can do but one thing as we go through with this. And that is, hold our heads down in shame.
“This bill takes 1.6 million needy families off of the SNAP program. Why? A work program that you manifest and walk around and say able-bodied men or able-bodied people should work and not be on food stamps.
“You know what you are really saying with that? The image of able-bodied men not working is the image of African American men not working in the minds of people out there who have this mental disposition.
“Now many of you on your side of the aisle may not understand that. But, I am an African American man, who has had to survive through my people coming through. And with the audacity that these are lazy people out there who don’t want to work.
“Nobody has the heritage of work in this country as African American men, 400 years in bondage and slavery without any compensation, working through it all.
“Now why do I speak so heartedly about this? It is because, Mr. Chairman, there’s got to be a reason why you want to put forward such a mean bill that hurts so many people. And the ranking member mentioned it and was kind, perhaps more, generally by saying ideological.
“But it is not the African American people that are going to be hurt the most. 36% of all SNAP recipients are white families, who desperately need that and whom I represent as well. Only 16% of the food stamp recipients are in rural areas and only 11% in urban.
“But there are people out there that don’t see that Mr. Chairman. And that is why I am also disturbed that when you take the African American colleges, put a 4 year scholarship program there, and snatch away the funding from the CCC, how can you have four year scholarships and you don’t put the money there to do it?”
