ms. balint: more than 40 million depend on snap to feed their families. snap benefits reach millions of americans every day. no state, no community, no congressional district in our nation is immune to hunger and food insecurity. and paradoxically, in rural areas that grow most of our nation's food, many households face real struggles with hunger. it's not just in metropolitan areas. and we know poverty is the root cause of hunger, and it's often acute in rural communities like in my home state of vermont with 15% of households in rural areas facing food insecurity. millions of working families, veterans, people with disability, seniors, children in rural communities cannot always afford enough food to keep themselves and their families healthy. simply put, too many americans are going hungry every day. but we have a vital program that actually helps address this program, the snap program. it provides monthly benefits to low-income families and individuals to help them to buy food. now, republicans attack, and it's just the latest attack on this essential