5.16.2013 The House and Senate Committees on Agriculture have each passed Farm Bill proposals that include significant cuts to SNAP (known as CalFresh in CA). Both proposals will move to the floor of their respective house for further debate and a vote in the coming weeks.See below for a quick recap and action steps that you can take:
In the House of Representatives…
• The House Committee on Agriculture passed (by a 36-10 vote) a Farm Bill proposal that includes a $20.5 billion cut to SNAP over 10 years. The committee’s Farm Bill proposal will head to the House for a floor vote in June.
• Two anti-hunger and nutrition leaders emerged from California: Rep. Negrete McLeod (D- Ontario) and Rep. Vargas (D- San Diego) voted ‘no’on final passage of the proposal to demonstrate their strong opposition to the proposed SNAP cuts.
• Reps. Costa (D- Merced), Garamendi (D- Yuba City), Denham (R-Modesto), and LaMalfa (R- Redding) voted in favor of the final committee proposal which includes SNAP cuts.
How could these cuts impact Californians?
These cuts would negatively impact low-income working families and seniors with modest gross income, but little disposable income. The House Farm Bill proposal would cause significant harm to 500,000 households, or 1.5 million low-income Californians.
What can you do?
As June approaches, remind your California Representatives that you do not support a Farm Bill that includes any cuts to SNAP. Urge them to stand strong in preserving and protecting SNAP. Recommend that they cosponsor and/or support any amendments that would restore SNAP cuts.
Plug in your zip code to find your Representative, call their Washington DC office, and use the following prompt. Link
“Hello, my name is _______. As a constituent, I want to urge Rep. ______ to stand strong in preserving and protecting SNAP in the farm bill, HR 1947. I don’t support the current proposal because it includes harmful cuts to low-income Californians. I hope Rep. ______ can cosponsor and support any amendments to restore SNAP cuts. Thank you for your time.”
In the Senate….
• The Senate Committee on Agriculture passed (by a 15-5 vote) a Farm Bill proposal that includes a $4.1 billion cut to SNAP over 10 years. Neither of California’s Senators, Sen. Feinstein or Sen. Boxer, serve on this committee.
• The committee’s proposed Farm Bill will likely head to the Senate floor for a vote early next week.
How would these cuts impact Californians?
The Senate Farm Bill proposal makes fewer cuts to SNAP than the House version; however, these cuts would still have a significantly negative impact on approximately 180,000 households, or 540,000 low-income Californians.
What can you do?
Urge California’s Senators to stand by their commitment to protecting and preserving SNAP by voting ‘no’on any Farm Bill that includes SNAP cuts. In addition, recommend that they cosponsor and/or support any amendments, such as the amendment introduced by Senator Gillibrand that would restore SNAP cuts.
Plug in your zip code to find your Senators, call their Washington DC office, and use the following prompt. Link
“Hello, my name is _______. As a constituent, I want to urge Senator ______ to stand strong in preserving and protecting SNAP in the farm bill, S 954. I don’t support the current proposal because it includes harmful cuts to low-income Californians. I hope Senator ______ can cosponsor and support any amendments to restore SNAP cuts, such as the amendment introduced by Senator Gillibrand. Thank you for your time.”
