Tell your Members of Congress to make nutrition a priority in any farm bill deal!

The farm bill expired more than two months ago, and Congress still has not worked out a deal on a new one.

Please take 30 seconds and tell your Members of Congress to make nutrition a priority in any farm bill deal!

For months, the farm bill has been in conference with little noticeable progress, until recently. While rumors of a farm bill deal have surfaced, few specifics have been shared publicly. Millions of America’s most vulnerable, including children and the elderly, are unsure of what changes may come of programs they need to put food on the table, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.

For decades, these programs have played a vital role in providing food security for millions of vulnerable and underemployed individuals. They are proven to positively impact health and economic self-sufficiency, as well as add much needed fruit and vegetables to American diets.

The U.S. House and Senate have passed vastly different versions of the bill and will now come together as a conference to try to come to an agreement. We need to make sure that Representatives and Senators make nutrition a priority in these discussions and that they don’t restrict access to vital programs that help feed millions of Americans.

Please help protect access to vital government nutrition programs by contacting your elected officials today!

(Consider including a personal comment for more impact.) 

- AHA’s Advocacy program

Deeply flawed, partisan farm bill fails in the House, but we still need to stay on top of it.

Rep. McSally, explain why taking healthy food away from children is good.

We did it! The deeply flawed, partisan farm bill failed in the House!  Last week, in a 213-198 vote, the House of Representatives voted down a partisan farm bill that rejected the evidence on critical programs and failed to push our food system in the right direction. We still have the chance to build a food system that makes healthy food available to everyone.

The farm bill is our biggest legislative opportunity to build a food system, from farm to fork, that we can be proud of. But the House version would have made it harder for millions to feed their families by imposing misguided work requirements on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps). The bill also failed to support farmers working to protect our water, improve soil health, and build healthy local and regional food systems.

I'm sad to say that Representative McSally voted for this failed bill, rejecting all the evidence that, by lifting millions out of poverty in both rural and urban communities around the country, SNAP works.

Unfortunately, House Speaker Paul Ryan is not giving up yet. With some in Congress threatening to hold a revote on this partisan farm bill by Tuesday, we can't back down. Members of Congress must recommit to writing a better, bipartisan bill—one that makes healthy food available to everyone, gives farmers the tools they need, and protects public health and the environment.

Call Representative McSally today and urge them to send the farm bill back to the drawing board and craft a bipartisan bill that works for farmers, eaters, and all communities.

Call her Tucson office: (520) 881-3588

Or dial (202) 224-3121, and a switchboard operator will connect you directly to your representative’s office. You can use the talking points below.

Defeating this House farm bill is a major victory—and it’s thanks to you. But we have to keep pushing to get a smart, science-based farm bill that works for everyone. Call Representative McSally today!

-Tali Robbins, Union of Concerned Scientists

TALKING POINTS TO GUIDE YOUR CALL

• Hello, my name is [YOUR FULL NAME] and I live in [CITY, STATE]. My zip code is [ZIP CODE].
• I’m calling about the farm bill, H.R. 2. I’m disappointed that Representative McSally voted for this deeply flawed bill, which would have hurt families in our district trying to put food on the table.
• Farmers, eaters, and communities across the country need a smart, science-based farm bill that works for everyone. I urge Representative McSally to go back to the drawing board and write a better, bipartisan farm bill.
• Thanks for your time.

Republicans Are Trying to Sneak Through Cuts to Food Assistance on Farm Bill

The farm bill is a legislative package that covers many issues related to food and agriculture (including farm subsidies, rural development, and bioenergy). It’s usually authorized every five years, and it is set to expire this year.

Why is this important? The farm bill includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or “food stamps”)—and Republicans want to make massive cuts to it. SNAP is the country’s most effective anti-hunger program, and helps 1 in 8 Americans, especially children, seniors, and people with disabilities, put food on the table. Despite providing modest benefits—the average SNAP benefit is about $1.40 per person per meal—SNAP is incredibly successful at fighting food insecurity and reducing poverty.

It’s likely that this bill will clear the House, but it faces a much tougher road in the Senate—which is likely to scrap the House effort and start over. You can help make sure that happens: Call your Representative and tell them to oppose H.R. 2, the House farm bill.

• To find out who your Representatives are, first find your district

• Use that district to find your Reps.

WHAT IS THE FARM BILL?

The farm bill is an “omnibus” piece of legislation that combines funding for a lot of different programs into one piece of legislation. The first farm bill was passed in response to the dust bowl in the 1930s, and was meant to increase farm incomes and encourage conservation.

Since then, the farm bill has grown in scope to include other programs—including food assistance. Historically, the farm bill has passed with considerable bipartisan support, but in recent years it has become more contentious as Republicans have ramped up their attempts to enact sweeping changes to SNAP that would make it harder for people struggling to make ends meet to get food assistance.

WHAT ARE THE REPUBLICANS TRYING TO DO TO SNAP?

House Republicans are trying to cut or take away food assistance from more than 2 million people struggling to make ends meet, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities.

Republicans, led by Rep. Mike Conaway (TX-11), want to impose even stricter work requirements on SNAP recipients. Right now, SNAP recipients between the ages of 18 and 49 already have to work at least 20 hours a week to receive their benefits after a three-month grace period. States are able to waive these requirements during economic downturns to ensure that people can still have access to food.

Under the new Republican bill, these requirements would be tightened considerably. Beginning in 2021, SNAP recipients between the ages of 18 and 59 would be required prove, every month, that they had worked at least 20 hours per week. If a person fails to do so, they can lose their SNAP benefits for a year—and each subsequent infraction would cause them to be locked out of receiving benefits for three years. The bill also takes away state flexibility to make the program easier for participants to use.

This is part of a larger push to radically transform federal assistance programs. Since Trump took office, Republicans in Congress and in the administration have been adding or tightening work requirements for programs like SNAP and Medicaid. These restrictions don’t do anything to help the people served by these programs, but they do result in more people falling into poverty as the protections they rely on are stripped away.

HOW WOULD THESE CHANGES AFFECT PEOPLE WHO RECEIVE SNAP BENEFITS?

If the House Republican farm bill is signed into law, up to 2 million people could lose some or all of their benefits. These cuts would be particularly acute for:

People in rural areas, since these areas tend to have more SNAP participants, food deserts, and poverty rates than metro areas and small towns.

Low-income women and working women, since the enhanced work requirement would punish people whose work schedules are inconsistent by barring them from receiving benefits if they don’t work at least 20 hours every week of the month. Work requirements do not count much of the informal labor that women disproportionately take on (such as being a caretaker for a family member) as “work.” The additional documentation requirements would also make it much easier for a busy person, such as a working mom, to accidentally lose her benefits because of a clerical error.

People with disabilities, who would have to deal with difficult exemption requirements in order to receive SNAP despite the new work requirements. It would also put their caretakers (whose labor would not meet the definition of “work” under these requirements) at risk of losing their benefits.

Children, whose parents could more easily lose benefits for all of the reasons above—and who are at risk of a wide variety of negative effects from food insecurity, such as behavioral and physical health problems.

This would have devastating effects for many households that rely on SNAP to supplement their food budget. Receiving SNAP reduces the rate of food insecurity, poor general health status, and obesity among recipients, and improves academic learning among school children. Taking away food stamps does more than put people at risk of not having enough to eat; that food insecurity then feeds into a host of other problems that conspire to keep families in poverty.

For the 42 million Americans who depend on SNAP, these changes would be devastating. SNAP is already highly efficient, both in the sense that it has very little waste or fraud and in the sense that it delivers critical support to vulnerable families to ensure that they can put food on the table. Cutting it has nothing to do with wanting to pull families up out of poverty; it’s just another way for Republicans to try to slash the safety net.

BUT WAIT, MY REPUBLICAN MOC SAID THIS BILL HAS NO CUTS TO SNAP!

Republicans have been playing a cynical game in selling their partisan farm bill. They say it has no SNAP cuts. Don’t be fooled: the House Agriculture Committee farm bill would cut or take away SNAP benefits from at least 2 million people and we expect that amount will be much higher if it became law.

That’s because the SNAP proposal takes the “savings” from cutting SNAP benefits by $17 billion, and instead uses that funding to create giant new state bureaucracies to track compliance with the harsh new work requirements, and to fund unproven, unscalable job training programs that are unlikely to help people find work—and certainly won’t do anything to replace their lost food assistance.

- Indivisible 

CALL SCRIPT FOR REPRESENTATIVES

Caller: Hi! My name is <NAME> and I’m from <part of state>. I am calling to urge <MoC> to vote No on H.R. 2, the House farm bill, which would make it harder for struggling Americans to put food on the table. This bill would take food assistance from millions of people, including seniors, children, and people with disabilities; <MoC> should reject it.

IF MOC SUPPORTS FARM BILL

Staffer: Thanks for calling. <MoC> supports the farm bill; <he/she> believes it is critical that we provide people with a pathway to find work so they can break the cycle of poverty and dependency that welfare creates.

Caller: This bill won’t do anything to help lift people out of poverty; for millions of Americans, it will only make things worse. The work requirements in this bill will add billions of dollars in new administrative costs, which are paid for by causing at least 2 million people to lose some or all of their food assistance.

Staffer: I’ll pass your thoughts along to <MoC>.

Caller: Please do, and please take down my name and contact information so you can follow up with me after the vote.

IF MOC OPPOSES FARM BILL

Staffer: Thanks for calling. <MoC> opposes the farm bill; <he/she> believes that we should not kick people off of SNAP by adding draconian new work requirements to this critical program.

Caller: I’m glad to hear it. SNAP is the country’s most effective anti-hunger program, and I appreciate that <MoC> is taking this stand to protect it.

Staffer: I’ll pass your thoughts along to <MoC>.

Caller: Please do, and please take down my name and contact information so you can follow up with me after the vote.

ACTION ALERT: Urge Representatives to vote against any farm bill that contains cuts to SNAP funding or changes to eligibility

Yesterday, in a party line vote, the House Agriculture Committee approved a farm bill (H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018) that would make disastrous changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) by imposing new draconian work requirements, making it harder for millions to feed their families.

But just because the committee approved this terrible bill, doesn't mean the full House will.

Make a call to Congress today at (202) 224-3121 and urge Representative Martha McSally to vote against any farm bill that contains cuts to SNAP funding or changes to eligibility.

We knew this attack on SNAP was coming. Earlier this year, the Trump administration proposed deep cuts to SNAP's budget, and both the administration and some in Congress have shamefully misled the public on the program's "integrity"—ignoring the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) own data, which show that SNAP has one of the lowest rates of fraud of any federal program.

Research shows that SNAP works. The program serves 42 million people each year, lifting more than 3.5 million people out of poverty—many of them children—and has a proven record of reducing hunger and improving financial stability. We know that the majority of SNAP participants who can work, do work. Among SNAP households with at least one working-age, non-disabled adult, more than 80 percent work in the year before or after receiving SNAP, demonstrating that the program overwhelmingly supports workers who are temporarily between jobs or have insufficient income to make ends meet.

Moreover, the proposed changes would allow SNAP participants just one month to find employment before they lose their benefits for an entire year, even as data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that securing a job within this time frame is an unattainable goal for most. The new work requirements won't do anything to address the root causes of poverty—and by reducing or eliminating SNAP benefits for an estimated two million people, the changes would exacerbate hunger and financial instability for communities that are already vulnerable.

This partisan House farm bill rejects the evidence on SNAP, and it also jeopardizes the entire farm bill process, which has historically proceeded in a spirit of political bipartisanship.

In the coming weeks, the farm bill will come to the full House floor for consideration, and every member of the House will vote on a bill that will shape our food system for years to come.

Representative McSally needs to hear from you that cuts to SNAP funding or changes to eligibility are unacceptable, and would hurt AZ communities. Call (202) 224-3121 today and demand that your representative stand up for SNAP. A switchboard operator will connect you directly to your represenative's office. You can use the talking points below.

From farm to fork, our food system should be one that we can be proud of, one that makes healthy food available for everyone. Please call your representative today!

- Tali Robbins, Union of Concerned Scientists

P.S. The farm bill is a massive piece of legislation that affects everything from the kinds of food you find in the grocery store and your children's school lunches, to the impacts of farming on the air you breathe and the water you drink. Want to know more about what's in the draft farm bill, how it affects you, and how you can help make it better? Join our experts on Facebook Live for all the details and answers to your questions about how this farm bill would shape every aspect of our food system, from farm to fork. Simply go to the UCS Facebook page on Monday, April 23, at 7:00 p.m. EDT to join. You can watch even if you aren't a member of Facebook, but to ask questions, you will have to be logged in.

TALKING POINTS TO GUIDE YOUR CALL

• Hello, my name is [YOUR FULL NAME] and I live in [CITY, STATE]. My zip code is [ZIP CODE].
• I'm calling about the farm bill (H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018). Research shows that SNAP works exactly as it's supposed to, and I urge my representative to vote against any farm bill on the floor that contains cuts to SNAP funding or changes to eligibility.
• The proposed changes to SNAP would reduce or eliminate benefits for an estimated two million people, making it harder for families to get healthy food and exacerbating financial hardship for vulnerable communities.
• Thank you for your time.

If you reach voicemail, feel free to leave a message. Please leave your full street address and zip code to ensure your call is tallied.

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There's another way:

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Cost-Saving Plan Would Provide Better Nutrition and Improved Health to Participants