Congresswoman Mary Peltola, sworn in to serve out the late Congressman Don Young’s remaining weeks of office, has submitted her first bill: House Resolution 8888, legislation that creates an Office of Food Security in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The purpose of the office is to better assist veterans in getting information about government benefits. The office would be staffed by a career government worker as the director. One of the main purposes of the office would be to collaborate, train and otherwise assist other agencies on how to get veterans signed up for SNAP benefits and WIC benefits.
“To develop and provide training, including training … for social workers, dietitians, chaplains, and other clinicians on how to assist veterans with enrollment in Federal nutrition assistance programs, including the supplemental nutrition assistance program and the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children established by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966,” the bill states.
With grocery prices up 13.5% over the past 12 months, many Americans are struggling to make ends meet. The solution for members of the military, according to the U.S. Army, is to apply for food stamps, or SNAP.
HR 8888 would also require the department to develop annual reports, and track food insecurity among veterans via racial characteristics, as well as gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
At this point in the bill’s history, it has passed out of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs at lightning speed; the fiscal cost to taxpayers is not yet determined.
The bill can be found here:
