Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Jackie Walorski (IN-2), Chairwoman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Nutrition held a hearing on duplication and unmet needs in government nutrition programs. The subcommittee heard from researchers and practitioners who have first-hand experience of how the many federal nutrition programs serve families in need of assistance. The repeated theme among the panel was a need for greater administrative efficiency to ensure that target populations continued to be served. This hearing is part of the committee’s ongoing review of the Past, Present, and Future of SNAP, currently known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and formerly referred to as food stamps.

“As the committee continues to review nutrition programs, we must recognize SNAP does not operate by itself,” Chairwoman Walorski said. “While SNAP is the largest nutrition assistance program, it is not the only federally funded program in existence currently. Seventeen other programs work to provide families in need of assistance, and now, a web of overlap is causing confusion for individuals trying to feed their families. Our goal remains the same – let’s find ways we can do better to serve all families.”

“We have limited resources and are committed to making sure that those resources are used as effectively as possible to help families in need,” Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) said. “As we continue our thoughtful and thorough review of SNAP, we are constantly looking at how SNAP interacts with other programs and can best help families improve their situation to more wisely use taxpayers’ dollars.”