Editorial: Going hungry in America

Saturday, May 19, 2007 | 6:50 a.m.

While Rep. Jim McGovern's supporters enjoyed a lavish breakfast Wednesday morning at a reelection fundraiser, the Massachusetts Democrat could only look on hungrily. At $20 per person, the meal cost almost as much as McGovern's entire weekly food budget.

A story by The Washington Post on Wednesday reports that McGovern and three other House members are trying to live for one week on $21 worth of food - the average amount of federal assistance given to food stamp recipients.

For the four members of Congress participating in the challenge - Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio , Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo. , and Rep. Janice Schakowsky, D-Ill. , are the other three - going without fresh vegetables and lean meat that are too expensive for food stamp budgets and eating small portions will last only this week.

But, sadly, that experience is a daily reality for the 26 million Americans who rely on food stamps to feed their families. The number of working people who qualify for food stamps has increased over the past six years - an economic figure that we'll not likely hear about from the Bush administration.

As a result, McGovern and Emerson, co-chairmen of the House Hunger Caucus, have introduced legislation that rightly seeks to increase the $33 billion federal food stamp budget by $4 billion.

While Congress debates the possibility of increasing federal food stamp funding, Nevada lawmakers are considering legislation that would raise the maximum welfare payment for a family of three from $348 a month to $400 a month. Members of an Assembly budget subcommittee approved the proposal last week along party lines, with Democrats voting in favor of it and Republicans opposing it. The last welfare increase was in 1993, and such a raise is long overdue.

Far-right conservatives often grandstand about the supposed existence of people who buy luxury cars while collecting welfare or purchase gourmet treats with food stamps.

But look past the rhetoric and do the math. A $400 welfare check won't begin to cover the average $850 a month it costs to rent a Las Vegas Valley apartment. And for a family that has just $21 a week to buy food, a $3 gallon of milk can seem like a luxury.

Certainly, charities provide much-needed help. But compassionate assistance for those who are struggling to get by is a responsibility that government and all of society should bear.