July 23, 1979
Page 20195
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Magnuson-McGovern substitute to S. 1309 as reported by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry to amend the Food Stamp Act.
This legislation comes before the Senate today to meet two emergency conditions: First, food price inflation and a large number of new program participants have brought funding needs above the 1979 spending ceiling set in 1977; and, second, prior changes in eligibility and benefit provisions relating to excess shelter expense and medical expense deductions have brought substantial hardship to elderly and handicapped recipients.
The Food Stamp Act of 1977, which imposed spending ceilings on the food stamp program through fiscal 1981 and brought about these changes in eligibility requirements, did not anticipate the adverse economic conditions affecting both the price of food and fuel. At the time that law was enacted, the Congressional Budget Office projected a rise in food prices at between 3 and 4 percent per year. The reality is, however, that those prices may rise at least 22 percent in the 2 years since passage of the bill.
That law also did not foresee the substantial increases in the price of oil that have been imposed during the course of this year by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Prices for home heating oil rose 25 percent in 1978 compared to the year before, and price estimates for this winter range upward from 80 cents per gallon.
In my State, this will mean substantial hardship, particularly for those most in need who are already having a difficult time making ends meet.
The increase in the trigger point for the excess shelter expense deduction, combined with the elimination of the separate medical expense deduction, enacted in the 1977 food stamp law, have been especially burdensome for those households participating in the food stamp program that contain an elderly or disabled person. Their shelter and medical expenses often consume the greater part of their small, fixed incomes. Reducing the level of food stamp benefits will force them to make an untenable choice between food and shelter and medical care.
Mr. President, as provisions of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 have been implemented during the course of this year, I have received a steady flow of complaints from the citizens in my State. In fact, my office has received literally hundreds of calls and letters from needy individuals and families in Maine who found this year's benefit reductions exasperating at a time when food and fuel costs are spiraling steadily upward.
If we do not pass this legislation today to increase the spending ceiling for the program, these people will be doubly hurt. The Department of Agriculture testified to the effect that lack of additional program funds will mean either a reduction in benefits by one-half in August and September, or a total shutdown of the program in September.
The amendment in the nature of a substitute which Senators MAGNUSON, McGOVERN, and DOLE are sponsoring incorporates the provisions of the committee bill, S. 1309, lifting the fiscal 1979 spending cap and liberalizing the shelter and medical deductions for the aged and disabled; it includes four Helms amendments, three of which are similar to proposals made by the President, aimed at improving program administration and rooting out fraud and abuse; it extends benefits to handicapped persons living in community living centers; and finally, it would remove the spending ceiling for fiscal years 1980 and 1981.
I support this amendment. I believe it contains responsible provisions to enable the program to respond quickly to changing economic conditions while at the same time maintaining existing eligibility requirements and encouraging sound program management.
Passage of this amendment, Mr. President, is vital to alleviate hardship among the participants in the food stamp program, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support it.
I thank the Chair for recognizing me.