Van Orden Votes to Advance Agriculture Committee Reconciliation Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, Congressman Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) released the following statement after voting to pass the House Agriculture Committee's budget reconciliation bill:

"Transparency, sustainability, accountability: these are the three things this bill delivers for the American people. Every SNAP dollar fraudulently spent is a dollar that does not go toward feeding a hungry child. That is why we are holding states accountable for their waste, fraud, abuse, and ensuring benefits are directed to the Americans who need them most.

"Being fiscally responsible and protecting benefits for vulnerable Americans can exist in the same universe. I am grateful to Chairman Thompson for working with me to adjust state cost-sharing responsibilities based on SNAP error rates. It is fair, proportional, and incentivizes good program management by holding high-error states accountable without dragging the states with smaller error rates, like Wisconsin, down with them."

The House Agriculture Committee's reconciliation bill includes the following provisions that will save billions of taxpayer dollars while protecting vulnerable populations and rural communities:

• Increasing the dairy Tier I cap
• Investing in agriculture research
• Bolstering trade promotion
• Strengthening the farm safety net
• Encouraging states to administer SNAP program benefits more efficiently and effectively
• Limiting a state's ability to exploit loopholes that allowed them to inflate SNAP benefits
• Strengthening SNAP work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents
• Refocusing SNAP eligibility on American citizens and legal permanent residents

Prior to markup, Rep. Van Orden delivered opening remarks on the committee's bill. Click hereto watch.