Statements For the Record
Mr. Speaker, the House Agriculture Committee will vote today on a Farm Bill that cuts $20 billion from nutrition support from the poorest, most vulnerable Americans – children, seniors, the disabled, and the working poor.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP – is a lifeline for nearly 50 million Americans to have access to healthy, affordable food and avoid hunger.
More than half of SNAP recipients live in deep poverty – an income of less than $10,000 a year for a family of three.
May 8, 2013
MS. McCOLLUM: Mister Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R.1406 – a bill more appropriately titled the ‘More Work, Less Pay Act’.
My colleagues on both sides of the aisle have spoken today about the challenges facing working families. Far too many families are still struggling financially to make ends meet, and as their Representatives we should be voting on legislation that provides more opportunities and support for America’s workers.
Mr. Speaker, Congress should never have passed sequestration. These reckless cuts are affecting families and communities throughout our nation, including those in Indian Country. Yet, when sequestration passed no one thought about how it would disproportionately impact tribal communities.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize this week as National Invasive Species Awareness Week.
The National Invasive Species Awareness Week is an opportunity to learn about invasive species in our communities and the risk they pose to our environments, economy, and native wildlife. These non-native plants, animals, and other microorganisms are costing our local communities, states, and the federal government millions of dollars each year. One species of concern for my district is Asian Carp.
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I join you in welcoming Assistant Secretary Washburn and our other witnesses to the subcommittee this morning.
Education is the cornerstone of the foundation on which we build our future. And, Native American parents, like parents all across this nation, look to a good education as an investment in a better future for their children.
Dear President Obama, Speaker Boehner and Leader Pelosi:
As negotiations on the fiscal cliff continue, we urge you to address the largest and fastest growing area of federal spending – health care. We must keep moving away from fee-for-service health care and toward a system that provides better care at a better cost. We urge you to build on delivery system reforms and find further efficiencies through incentivizing the value of care provided instead of the volume of care.
Mr. Speaker, The American people expect Congress to work together to create jobs and grow our economy. We heard that message loud and clear in last week’s election. We have an opportunity to save 75,000 American jobs RIGHT NOW by extending the Wind Production Tax Credit.
In Minnesota, this tax credit helped create an entire industry that employs thousands of people from construction workers to high-tech analysts. All of these jobs are now under threat.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 5912. This is a misguided bill that repeals public financing of our national political conventions and allows moneyed special-interests to complete their corporate buyout of America’s electoral process.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.Res. 786. I join President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and my colleagues in Congress in condemning these attacks in the strongest possible terms. The attacks on our embassies in Cairo, Egypt and Sana, Yemen and the violent assault on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya were shocking and unacceptable.
[as prepared]
As you’ve already heard here today, H.R. 5544 is missing an awful lot of important detail & taxpayer protections -- creating major problems with its vague and unusual language. One major omission in this bill is its failure to acknowledge the treaty rights of Minnesota’s tribal nations. Treaty rights are a prominent concern in this land exchange because the unspecified lands under consideration in H.R. 5544 are all within the Superior National Forest, which is governed by the 1854 Treaty between the Chippewa nations and the United States Government.