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Source: Congress.gov
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good morning everybody this committee will come to order welcome and thank you for joining today's hearing entitled the power of work expanding opportunity through snap after brief opening remarks members will receive testimony from our witness today and then the hearing will be open to questions and i'll proceed with my opening statement uh good morning again welcome to today's hearing on the relationship between the supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, and employment. Thank you to our witnesses for sharing their time, expertise, and passion. The focus of today's hearing is to examine ways to get more SNAP participants on the ladder of opportunity and on their way to achieving the American dream, which is through the dignity of work. I strongly believe that the best way to do this is through employment. We must preserve benefits for those truly in need, but also ensure that SNAP guides participants to independence and self-sufficiency. If we can get folks that first job, they will be on the ladder of opportunity and will continue to climb the rungs and increase their earnings. There is dignity in work. And it provides more than just a paycheck. Americans thrive when every family has the opportunity to work, earn, and succeed independently from the government. Unemployment remains at a record low. There are 7.6 million jobs open across the country, and companies are announcing major investments in the United States. Put simply, we need more able-bodied Americans engaged in work. It's a win-win for the country and for American families. However, we know that three-quarters of non-disabled adults, that's non-adults without disability, age 18 to 54, who are without dependents or fall under that acronym, it's an unfortunate acronym, I think, but ABODs, who are receiving SNAP are not working.
These are folks who are capable of work and not taking and they're not taking care of anyone under the age of 18 or an aging parent or a relative. This percentage is largely unchanged from 2019, despite a 67 percent increase in spending on the SNAP program. Clearly, there is a need to strengthen the connection between receiving SNAP and securing employment. Now, we can examine the relationship between SNAP and employment by taking a closer look at two key components of the program. work requirements and SNAP employment and career and technical education programs. Work requirements are an important tool for encouraging work among low income threshold households. Congress has reaffirmed this on a bipartisan basis throughout the passage of several bipartisan farm bills and most recently the Fiscal Responsibility Act. However in some states broad waivers allow SNAP participants to remain on the sidelines of the economy indefinitely. Today, 40 percent of all ABODs on SNAP live under a state waiver from the work requirement. There are millions of Americans being robbed of the opportunity to climb another rung on the economic ladder. Congress must ensure work requirement waivers are only used when economic circumstances truly justify them, not in states with 4.3 percent unemployment rates. The second tool in the toolbox are SNAP employment and career and technical education programs, otherwise known as SNAP E&T. SNAP E&T is a powerful, targeted program to help SNAP participants acquire career and technical education and long-term employment. Not only do SNAP participants graduate from these programs with certifications and high-demand jobs like healthcare, and trucking, but they receive supportive services like transportation, childcare, and mental health supports.
And I look forward to hearing testimony today about the power of SNAP E&T programs to change lives. I'm also proud of the provisions we included in the Farm Food and National Security Act last year to increase access to SNAP E&T. We removed a draconian, outdated ban on former drug felons from receiving SNAP, bringing that ladder of opportunity closer in reach and allowing them to participate in SNAP E&T. We also included a provision to exclude any wages earned from SNAP E&T or other career and technical education programs from counting towards income for SNAP eligibility. Families should not be forced to choose between keeping their benefits and taking a job or pursuing training that could lead to long-term financial independence. I've long been an advocate of the SNAP program and the helpful hand it provides for our neighbors in need. But I hope we can all agree on our responsibility as members of this committee that we take every action possible to enable more people to move into long-term employment while meeting their nutritional needs. The safety net has become a spider's web. And too many of us, too many of our most vulnerable Americans are trapped. I refuse to believe that they are all destined to live lives of government dependency. Let's come together not to talk about all the obstacles that may be in their way, but to instill hope that together we can move these folks forward. With that, I now like to welcome the distinguished ranking member, the gentlewoman from Minnesota, Ms. Craig, for any opening remarks that she would like to give.
Well, thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. This hearing certainly is coming at an important moment for the American people. The Committee has been asked to pass, and all of my Republican colleagues have voted for, a House bill that would seek to cut up to $230 billion in funding from our jurisdiction to help pay for tax breaks for the President's billionaire buddies like Elon Musk.
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