WASHINGTON — House members from both parties have signed on to two bills filed late last week aimed at expanding federal aid to hungry American troops and their families, and a similar push is underway in the Senate.
The legislative moves come as Pentagon figures show some 286,800 personnel in the active-duty force, or nearly 1 in 4 military servicemembers, experience “low food security.” Of those, an estimated 120,000 are faced with “very low food security,” meaning they periodically eat less, miss meals or lose weight, the Defense Department has found.
The recently filed bills, both sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., would rewrite the rules for federal assistance to military personnel.
