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Food Stamps


Four men sit around a cluster of microphones, including Senator Bob Dole, Senator George McGovern, and Senator Daniel Inouye for the U.S. Senate Select Committee, Nutrition and Human Needs, 1980

Summary

The Food Stamp Act of 1964 made the Food Stamps Program a permanent piece of legislation. This program continues to provide financial assistance for purchasing food for low-income American families today.

Depression Era

The Food Stamp Program started in the late 1930s in response to an unprecedented situation where the U.S. had both farm surpluses and hundreds of thousands of hungry people. In the early version of the program, people purchased stamps on a $1 for $1 ratio, but also received additional stamps that entitled them to buy foods that were designated “surplus” at local stores for a reduced price.  The program lasted until 1943, when the escalation of World War II resulted in both decreased surpluses and reduced unemployment.

The Food Stamp Act

In 1961, the Food Stamp Program was reestablished as a pilot program and incorporated as part of Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty to assist the thousands of Americans who were still under-nourished.

The Food Stamp Act of 1964 launched it as a permanent program, but it was not until 10 years later, in 1974, that the Food Stamp Program went nationwide and Congress required participation from all states.

Bob Dole's Role

Bob Dole had been peripherally involved with the program throughout his House of Representatives and early Senate career, but in 1977 he led the charge to change the Food Stamp program significantly.

Along with George McGovern (D-SD), he worked to produce a bipartisan solution to two of the main problems associated with food stamps: cumbersome purchase requirements and lax eligibility standards. They succeeded in designing a program that eliminated the need for individuals to make a required minimum payment to obtain food stamp coupons – a minimum that many still could not afford.

Additionally, their efforts added controls to the program, eliminating dependent college students whose families weren’t eligible and penalizing breadwinners who voluntarily quit their jobs and applied for food stamps; these moves protected taxpayers and the integrity of the program. Dole’s request to Congress to support this provision was characteristically frank:

“I am confident that this bill eliminates the greedy and feeds the needy.”

 

Emergency Aid

Dole’s involvement didn’t end there, though. In 1991, when a deadly tornado ripped through Southeast Kansas, he pushed for and got emergency food stamp assistance for residents in those counties in record time – just four days. Just two years later, when severe flooding occurred in the Midwest, he did the same for its residents. This only solidified Dole’s record as a strong yet pragmatic supporter of food stamps and the difference that they can make in the lives of Americans.

Archival Materials

Senators Dole and McGovern at the United Nations World Food Programme Senate Hearing

Bob Dole sitting next to George McGovern behind a table with microphones, name tags, and a pitcher of water.

File Name: ph_158_001_004

Material Type: Photograph

Date: 2000-07-27

Citation: Dole Photograph Collection, 1900-2011, Box 158, Folder 1, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Date Range

  • 1973-1976

Online Materials

  • Memos, letters, statements, general information on food stamps

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Senators Dole and McGovern chatting with others at the United Nations World Food Programme Senate Hearing

an unknown woman, George McGovern, and Bob Dole stand in front of an elevated table, chatting with two or three men standing up behind the table. The table has microphones, pitchers of water, and papers laid before seats.

File Name: ph_158_001_003

Material Type: Photograph

Date: 2000-07-27

Citation: Dole Photograph Collection, 1900-2011, Box 158, Folder 1, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Senator Bob Dole and Senator George McGovern at a committee hearing

Senator Bob Dole and Senator George McGovern sit behind a wooden panel with microphones

File Name: ph_020_017_002

Material Type: Photograph

Date: 1980

Citation: Dole Photograph Collection, 1900-2011, Box 20, Folder 17, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Senator Bob Dole and Senator George McGovern at a Senate Hearing

unknown man, Bob Dole, George McGovern, and Daniel Inouye sit side by side behind a table with microphones, glasses of water, and papers.

File Name: ph_020_017_001

Material Type: Photograph

Date: 1980

Citation: Dole Photograph Collection, 1900-2011, Box 20, Folder 17, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


A Look at Historical United States Food Stamps, Coupons, and Cards

An exhibit display showing seven examples of food stamps, coupons, and cards since 1943

File Name: ME19.07338

Material Type: Object

Date: Undated

Citation: Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Atchison, Kansas, Anti-Food Stamps Letter and Senator Bob Dole's Reply

First page of a handwritten anti-food stamps letter from an Atchison, Kansas, constituent to Senator Bob Dole

File Name: s-con_259_009_001

Material Type: Text

Date: 1974-10-10

Citation: Robert J. Dole Senate Papers- Constituent Relations, 1969-1996, Box 259, Folder 9, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Food Stamp Evaluation Letter and Senator Bob Dole's Reply

Form letter from a group of Sedgwick County Kansas constituents on Food Stamp Evaluation

File Name: s-con_259_009_002

Material Type: Text

Date: 1973-07-01

Citation: Robert J. Dole Senate Papers- Constituent Relations, 1969-1996, Box 259, Folder 9, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Letter from Garden City, Kansas Woman and Senator Bob Dole's Reply

Letter from Garden City, Kansas Woman to Senator Bob Dole regarding the efficacy of programs that help the elderly poor.

File Name: s-con_201_006_001

Material Type: Text

Date: 1974-07-31

Citation: Robert J. Dole Senate Papers- Constituent Relations, 1969-1996, Box 201, Folder 6, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Letter from Great Bend, Kansas Man and Senator Bob Dole's Reply

Anti- food stamps letter from Great Bend, Kansas Man to Senator Bob Dole

File Name: s-con_259_010_001

Material Type: Text

Date: 1975-01-29

Citation: Robert J. Dole Senate Papers- Constituent Relations, 1969-1996, Box 259, Folder 10, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Letter from Wichita, Kansas Woman and Senator Bob Dole's Reply

Handwritten letter from Wichita, Kansas Woman to Senator Bob Dole regarding his vote on food stamps

File Name: s-con_259_010_002

Material Type: Text

Date: 1975-02-08

Citation: Robert J. Dole Senate Papers- Constituent Relations, 1969-1996, Box 259, Folder 10, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Why Food Stamp Participation Will Never Reach 93-94% 

fact sheet explaining why Food Stamp Participation Will Never Reach 93-94% of the eligible population

File Name: s-leg_018_009_001

Material Type: Text

Date: Undated

Citation: Robert J. Dole Senate Papers- Constituent Relations, 1969-1996, Box 18, Folder 9, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Letter from Senator Bob Dole to Herman Talmadge

Letter from Senator Bob Dole to Herman Talmadge explaining the cost advantages to Dole's proposed amendment on food stamps.

File Name: s-leg_018_009_002

Material Type: Text

Date: 1976-03-22

Citation: Robert J. Dole Senate Papers- Constituent Relations, 1969-1996, Box 18, Folder 9, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Editorial from Herman Talmadge

Editorial from Herman Talmadge on food stamp reform

File Name: s-leg_018_009_004

Material Type: Text

Date: 1976-03-22

Citation: Robert J. Dole Senate Papers- Constituent Relations, 1969-1996, Box 18, Folder 9, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Recommendation to Herman Talmadge from Senator Bob Dole and other Senators

Letter to Herman Talmadge from Senator Bob Dole and other Senators requesting that the estimated budget for the food stamps program for fiscal year 1977 remain at the current services estimate, despite the likelihood that the committee would not require such a high spending level.

File Name: s-leg_018_009_005

Material Type: Text

Date: 1976-03-11

Citation: Robert J. Dole Senate Papers- Constituent Relations, 1969-1996, Box 18, Folder 9, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas


Statement by Senator Bob Dole, 'The Cost Estimate Game'

Statement of Senator Bob Dole, 'The Cost Estimate Game' which refutes statements made by a senator from Alabama regarding cost estimates for the food stamp program

File Name: s-leg_018_015_001

Material Type: Text

Date: Undated

Citation: Robert J. Dole Senate Papers- Constituent Relations, 1969-1996, Box 18, Folder 15, Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas