11/22/2005
STATEMENT OF SENATOR TOM HARKIN ON FOOD ASSISTANCE CUTS IN HOUSE BUDGET BILL

Senator Tom Harkin: “Thanksgiving is not only a time to give thanks for family, friends, and community, it is also an opportunity for Americans to pause and reflect upon our obligations to those who, this Thanksgiving, are struggling to make ends meet. Around the country, millions of Americans are responding by giving their time and money to help the less fortunate put food on the table and a roof over their heads. This fall, in the wake of the devastation brought about by hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, Americans have responded in record numbers by opening their homes and their pocketbooks to the disadvantaged.

“Sadly, at a time when average Americans are reaching out to friends and strangers alike, Congress is doing the opposite. Just last week, the House of Representatives passed a budget bill that would cut federal food assistance for no less than 225,000 low-income Americans. These cuts would be felt disproportionately by working families with children and legal immigrants.

“I am especially troubled that the House is seeking to cut food assistance for hard-working legal immigrants. On the first Thanksgiving celebrated on American soil, native people reached out to European immigrants seeking a better life overseas and welcomed them to their tables. This Thanksgiving, we dishonor this memory and the spirit of generosity of the first Thanksgiving by cutting food assistance to legal immigrants who also seek a better life in America. America can do better than this.”


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