Today, the Senate passed a Farm Bill that protects vital food assistance for millions of Americans who rely on SNAP to put food on the table. CFPA and our anti-hunger partners applaud the Senate for passing a bipartisan bill by an overwhelming vote count of 86-11. The Senate bill, in contrast to the harmful House version, protects SNAP/CalFresh benefit levels and eligibility for struggling Californians — including children, seniors, persons with disabilities, veterans, working families, and others.
We thank our Senators Feinstein and Harris, along with the 66 other Senators who voted to table an amendment to the bill that would have increased hunger and poverty by imposing ill-conceived and impractical work rules on people struggling to maintain employment, among other harsh SNAP provisions.
You can learn more about how the Senate bill makes modest changes to SNAP while protecting benefits for recipients by reading this detailed analysis from the Center on Budget and Policies Priorities.
What’s next in the Farm Bill process?
The next step in the legislative process is a conference report that will seek to reconcile the stark differences in the House and Senate bills. CFPA and our allies call on all members of the California congressional delegation to speak out in opposition to the House bill’s draconian and partisan approach, which would take food off the table of over 2 million people, increase hunger and hardship, and exacerbate our nation’s already alarming state of income inequality. Conference committee members should use the Senate bill’s SNAP measures as the basis for the final bill and reject the House’s misguided and mean-spirited provisions.
Learn more and and join the fight to protect SNAP/CalFresh
Read about the negative SNAP proposals in the House bill and how they would impact vulnerable Californians by visiting CFPA’s Farm Bill webpage.
CalFresh helps alleviate hunger and poverty in every California congressional district. Learn more about the importance of protecting and strengthening CalFresh in the Farm Bill by viewing and sharing CFPA’s Farm Bill and CalFresh Congressional District Fact Sheets.
Stay up to date on the Farm Bill and receive timely calls to action by signing up for our Federal Advocacy/Farm Bill email alerts.
Questions? Contact: Jared Call at 213.482.8200 ext 201
