Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson Votes Against Deep Cuts to Food Assistance

Washington, DC – (Thursday, September 19, 2013) – Today Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson voted against H.R. 3102, Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act, Republican legislation which cuts basic food aid (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/SNAP) by nearly $40 billion over ten years. The measure will deny basic food assistance for nearly 4 million Americans.  The measure passed by a vote of 217 to 210.

“Today, I voted against a debilitating bill that affects the millions of low-income American families, because many of our citizens are already living on the edge of poverty, and these cuts would virtually eliminate the assistance they desperately need,” said Congresswoman Johnson. In Dallas County, 450,000 residents are food insecure, 300,000 of which are children.”

The bill contains a number of provisions that ignore the reality that millions of Americans continue to struggle with unemployment at 6.5% in Texas.  The House bill would also cut school lunches for over 200,000 children and eliminate food assistance for 170,000 veterans. The Republican bill would subsequently eliminate 55,000 jobs in the first year alone.

Congresswoman Johnson noted, “In 2011, SNAP lifted 4.7 million people out of poverty. It’s not just the black or Hispanic populations who receive SNAP benefits, but it’s the working class, the elderly, and the disabled. Cutting this program would be devastating to the millions of Americans who are working hard to provide for their families.”

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the Ranking member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Kessler Park, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, South Dallas & South Oak Cliff; all of Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Ferris, Glenn Heights, South Grand Prairie, Oak Lawn, Ovilla, Uptown/Victory Park and West Dallas.