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Food Stamp Act Amendments of 1980 Statement on Signing S. 1309 Into Law.

May 27, 1980

I am pleased to sign S. 1309, the Food Stamp Act Amendments of 1980.

Food stamps are vital to millions of Americans—the elderly and disabled, poor children, the unemployed, and working families who earn low wages. The food stamp program has been remarkably successful over the past 10 years in easing hunger and malnutrition in the Nation. I am proud of my administration's record of strong support for this program.

S. 1309 raises the food stamp authorization ceilings for fiscal years 1980 and 1981, helping ensure that the needy among us will not go hungry. I am pleased that Congress acted in time to avert a suspension of food stamps next month.

This legislation represents the kind of cooperation between the Congress and the administration we need to balance the budget and improve the operation of Federal programs.

The bill contains my proposals for reducing fraud and abuse in the food stamp program and for reducing the cost of the program. Revisions offered in the Congress will help focus the program's benefits on those most in need and will improve administration at the State level.

I am especially grateful to Chairmen Foley and Talmadge for their leadership in guiding S. 1309 through the Congress. They and their colleagues on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are to be commended for their work on this legislation.

Note: As enacted, S. 1309 is Public Law 96249, approved May 26.

Jimmy Carter, Food Stamp Act Amendments of 1980 Statement on Signing S. 1309 Into Law. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/251592

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