Farmers, Ranchers, Foresters, and Consumers Deserve Certainty

Floor Speech

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Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished chairman especially for bringing the listening tour of the Committee on Agriculture to the great State of Missouri this past August. We had a great time. People got to have their say on what they want in the farm bill.

It was truly a bipartisan effort. It was truly a sight to behold.

I am not a farmer. I don't even play one on TV. I am an American who understands the importance of agriculture, and that our food security is our national security. That is why, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support of passing a robust farm bill, a lifeline for our Nation's farmers and for the nourishment of our citizens.

My home State of Missouri boasts 87,000 farms, the second highest number of farms in the United States of America. Ag is the backbone of our Nation. Through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, we bridge the gap between the produce of our farmers and the tables of more than 41 million Americans.

SNAP is more than just a program, Mr. Speaker. It is a pact with our citizens, ensuring that no truly deserving, qualified American goes to bed hungry.

It is our duty to safeguard the integrity of SNAP. It is our duty to make sure every dollar is spent judiciously, reaching only the hungry and not lost to fraud, waste, and abuse.

Mr. Speaker, it is estimated that about $34 million per day is lost to erroneous payments, some $13 billion a year, where in some cases recipients intentionally cheat the system to obtain more benefits than they are eligible for. These fraudulent activities strain the program's resources and undermine its integrity, affecting those who are genuinely in need. Our farmers are held to integrity standards through their use of programs like crop insurance. It is incumbent that States and recipients are held to similar standards.

With more than 80 percent of the farm bill's funding dedicated to SNAP, any fraud is unacceptable. We must incentivize people to live a healthy lifestyle, eliminate waste, and firmly tackle abuse without punishing those truly in need.

That is why, Mr. Speaker, it is time to wash SNAP with a program that is prowork, pro-accountability, pro-sustenance, and pro-health. That is exactly what Chairman Thompson and my colleagues on the House Committee on Agriculture have been working on.

It is time to pass a farm bill that backs our hardworking farmers and ranchers and keeps our food assistance programs both strong and honest.

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