{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=9e99d77d-4718-47ef-8147-4e1a90f08986", "Heitkamp: Not a Proud Day for House of Representatives", "2013-09-19", "2013", "2013-09", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today released the following statement after the House of Representatives voted for a bill to slash nutrition assistance programs for low-income families, children, seniors, and people who are disabled.\u00a0\r\nOn June 10, Heitkamp helped the Senate pass an overwhelmingly bipartisan Farm Bill that reduces the federal deficit by more than $23 billion. The bill reforms the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) \u2013 which supports nutrition assistance programs \u2013 by closing loopholes, cracking down on abuse, and improving program integrity. \u00a0\r\nIn July, the House of Representatives passed a Farm Bill that completely removed the nutrition assistance provisions, putting low-income families across North Dakota and the country at risk.\u00a0 By taking out these lifesaving programs, which have been a crucial part of the Farm Bill for 50 years, the House is jeopardizing the passage of a comprehensive, long-term Farm Bill.\r\n\u201cThis is not a proud day for the House of Representatives. It is ironic that these are many of the same Members of Congress who bailed out the big banks, but when a family needs a little bit of help, they can\u2019t seem to find a way to help them,\u201d said Senator Heitkamp. \u201cNot only did they vote to kick nearly four million people off nutrition assistance \u2013 including children, seniors, veterans, and disabled Americans. But they have seriously jeopardized the passage of a long-term Farm Bill that would provide certainty to North Dakota farmers and ranchers. Senate Agriculture Committee members of both parties have already suggested this effort is a non-starter.\r\n\u201cThe Senate did its part to pass a comprehensive, long-term, and bipartisan Farm Bill \u2013 just as we have done for 50 years.\u00a0 And I worked to make sure it included a number of provisions to help North Dakota. Sadly, the House is willing to throw it all away because they want to slash nutrition assistance programs that are lifelines for so many North Dakota and American families across the country.\u00a0\r\n\u201cThese supports are modest, averaging only $1.40 per person per meal. \u00a0And 44 percent of North Dakotans who benefit from the programs are children. But under the House proposal, at least four million low-income Americans, including many North Dakotans, will be prevented from receiving support during a time when they need it most.\u00a0 Ironically, these programs helped keep four million Americans out of poverty last year.\r\n\u201cJust a few days ago, I met with North Dakota parents who benefit from the very nutrition assistance programs the House wants to drastically cut.\u00a0 We don\u2019t live in a country that rips food safety-net programs out from under children and families who need them.\r\n\u201cNow we need to get to work and negotiate a Senate-House compromise bill that works for North Dakotans.\u00a0 It\u2019s past time for the House to step up to the plate, and stop playing political games with people\u2019s lives \u2013 including the lives of our farmers and ranchers who need a long-term Farm Bill to do their jobs.\u201d\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=9e99d77d-4718-47ef-8147-4e1a90f08986"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6519129276275635, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}