The much awaited Farm Bill has passed, and it includes protections sought by the faith community and many others. Unfortunately, according to Rep. Jim McGovern, “…tucked inside this rule is language that turns off fast-track procedures for all Yemen resolutions through the end of this Congress.” The Senate has passed a resolution to address the Yemeni crisis, but the House action has rendered its vote moot. Learn more at https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/house-passes-farm-bill-and-controversial-rule-on-yemen-debate-78056.
SNAP
From the Food Research and Action Center (http://www.frac.org):
Farm Bill Agreement Rejects Array of Harmful SNAP Provisions and Keeps Food on the Table for Millions of People Struggling Against Hunger
Update (December 12, 4:30 p.m.): On December 11, the Senate passed the Farm Bill by a vote of 87-13. On December 12, the House passed the Farm Bill by a vote of 369-47. The bill is now headed to the White House for the president’s signature.
Statement attributed to James D. Weill, president, Food Research & Action Center
WASHINGTON, December 11, 2018 — The Farm Bill Conference Report, released yesterday evening, protects the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the critical investment that ensures nearly 40 million people who struggle against hunger in this country can afford to put food in their refrigerators and on their tables.
The Food Research & Action Center applauds the hard and committed work of key members on both sides of the aisle who prioritized the needs of those at risk of hunger. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Senate Agriculture ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and House Agriculture ranking member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), in particular, are to be commended for pushing back against the House bill’s proposed SNAP cuts, which would have punished and stigmatized low-income Americans and made hunger and poverty in this country far, far worse. They and other champions in Congress made all the difference in ensuring a positive outcome and reaffirming Congress’ longstanding bipartisan support for protecting SNAP and rejecting weakening provisions.
Also hugely instrumental was the network of anti-hunger advocates and the hundreds of national, state, and community-based groups who lifted their voices to educate policymakers about how the proposed harmful changes to SNAP would impact real people — children, seniors, working families, veterans, and people with disabilities, among others.
There is more work to do in the years ahead to make SNAP fully address the nutritional needs of the millions of people in this country struggling against hunger and to improve their food security and health.
As Congress moves to vote on this legislation, anti-hunger advocates across the country are committed to working with Congress and state legislatures to build on this foundation by strengthening the program, its benefits, and its reach.
The Food Research & Action Center is the leading national nonprofit organization working to eradicate poverty-related hunger and undernutrition in the United States.
Forestry
From The Wilderness Society (http://wilderness.org/):
As many of you are aware, this week, House and Senate Agriculture Committee Leaders announced a bipartisan conference report on H.R. 2, the Agricultural Improvements Act of 2018, also known as the farm bill. The bill quickly passed the House (369-47) and Senate (87-13) with overwhelming support and is expected to soon be signed into law. All things considered, The Wilderness Society is pleased with the final forestry title and released a supportive statement on the bill highlighting some of the more positive provisions.
Forestry issues aren’t always the highest profile or easiest to message on here in Washington D.C., especially in the context of a huge piece of legislation like the farm bill. However, the diversity of stakeholders and regional representation we were able to bring together to oppose the House-forestry provisions made a strong statement that encouraged Democratic leaders (Stabenow, Pelosi, and Schumer) to take a stand against including these provisions in a final bill. This was particularly important as forest issues exploded onto the national scene as the Administrations tried to use the devastating California wildfires to push for the inclusions of controversial forestry management provisions in the farm bill. Fortunately, commonsense and bipartisanship prevailed, and you all deserve credit for your important role in achieving this outcome.
Although the farm bill won’t come back up for 5 years, we expect that we will continue to see attempts by the Administration and its allies in Congress to use the fear of fire to push for rollbacks of environmental laws and curtailment of public input.
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