WC Wisconsin News

Today, Congressman Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin's 3rd District announced his support for the House Agriculture Committee's budget reconciliation bill. The congressman emphasized the importance of transparency, sustainability, and accountability in government spending.

Van Orden stated, "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." He stressed the need to hold states accountable for waste and fraud in order to ensure benefits reach those who need them most.

He expressed gratitude to Chairman Thompson for collaborating on adjusting state cost-sharing responsibilities based on SNAP error rates. Van Orden said it was "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 reconciliation bill from the House Agriculture Committee includes measures aimed at saving taxpayer dollars while protecting vulnerable populations and rural communities. Key provisions include increasing the dairy Tier I cap, investing in agriculture research, bolstering trade promotion efforts, strengthening farm safety nets, encouraging efficient administration of SNAP benefits by states, limiting loopholes that inflate SNAP benefits unjustly, enhancing work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents within SNAP programs, and focusing eligibility on American citizens and legal permanent residents.

Prior to markup of the bill in committee sessions, Rep. Van Orden delivered opening remarks highlighting these aspects.