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Rep. Susie Lee on House Floor: “There’s no excuse for a child to go hungry in our country.”

April 16, 2021

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03) spoke on the House floor in support of the American Rescue Plan. In particular, she highlighted the relief the package will provide to families across the nation, and how key provisions in the American Rescue Plan — such as the expanded Child Tax Credit — will lift millions of children out of poverty and grant them stable childhoods.

Click here to watch floor speech

The following is a transcript of Rep. Lee's remarks:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Nevadans still struggling to put food on the table.

I rise for those who can't bear to look their children in the eye when they're asked what's for dinner.

Right now, in my home state of Nevada, where our economy has been devastated by this pandemic, 304,000 adults say that they don't have enough food to eat.

Of that, 132,000 say that their children don't have enough to eat.

This is entirely unacceptable.

There's no excuse for a child to go hungry in our country.

But I'm glad to say that help is here.

The American Rescue Plan will cut child poverty in half through payments, bolstered Child Tax Credits, and the expansion of food assistance programs.

For the first time in a long time, millions of children across this country will be lifted out of poverty and allowed a stable and secure childhood.

We all know that our children are our future and the smartest investment we can make is in them, which is just one of the many reasons I am proud to support the American Rescue Plan.

And with that, I yield.

Thank you.