Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Jackie Walorski (IN-2), Chairwoman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, held a hearing to examine the various challenges faced by low-income seniors, veterans, and active-duty military. This hearing is a continuation of the full-scale review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as the Past, Present, and Future of SNAP. The subcommittee heard from a panel of witnesses who shared their first-hand experience with the everyday challenges these special populations face with functional limitations to access and prepare food.

“As a member of the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees, I care greatly about our active-duty military families and veterans. When brave men and women answer the call to serve and risk their lives for our country, it is our duty to ensure they, along with their families, have access to resources necessary to be successful. That success is possible, in part, with the help of SNAP. The SNAP program is an important tool that can serve our nation’s finest and provide our veterans with relief quickly and efficiently. There is still much work to be done to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of SNAP to better understand how to directly help special populations like our veterans and active-duty military, but today is a positive step forward in the right direction. Thank you to our witnesses for sharing with us your perspective on the many challenges these individuals face,” said Subcommittee Chairwoman Walorski.

“As a committee, we have been and continue to be committed to serving these special populations of people who need immediate access to food. However, we have learned throughout our full-scale review of SNAP that it is a one-size-fits-all program that may not take into consideration certain subpopulations. Our seniors, veterans, active-duty military and other vulnerable citizens who rely on SNAP have diverse characteristics and needs that should be addressed accordingly. It will take a joint effort between the federal government and our private partners to make sure these needs are met. I look forward to continuing our review of SNAP to ensure the program can better serve these individuals,” said Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway.