MAZON Sees Possible Return to Bipartisan Support of Anti-Hunger Policies
In the wake of the historic midterm election of 2018, MAZON is ready to work with the new Congress on addressing the persistent food insecurity that plagues over 40 million Americans.
We recognize, after over 35 years of leadership experience in the anti-hunger movement, that addressing hunger is not a top priority for many elected officials. That is where our hard work must begin – to make certain that our leaders in both the House and the Senate remember those vulnerable Americans who are looking to them to demonstrate real leadership and govern responsibly. We understand that the business of Congress includes oversight and that it serves as a vital part of our system of checks and balances; for many pundits, that is where the business of Congress begins and ends. Like the vast majority of Americans, MAZON is looking to this Congress to establish thoughtful and responsive policy – to demonstrate that it can work across the aisle, as it has done for generations, in crafting legislative responses to some of America’s most intractable challenges, including hunger.
We do not expect this to be easy, but we know that it is possible. We have seen true bipartisan negotiation, compromise, and solutions in the Senate as it debated the Farm Bill, even during this remarkably divisive time. We are eager to work with new members of the House of Representatives who will bring important perspectives that have been absent from the debate for too long:
• Many who are veterans who will understand the tragedy of widespread hunger among our veterans who have served in every branch of the military;
• Many who are Jewish and bring our shared values to their efforts;
• And a record number of women, who understand all too well the challenges of balancing work and family and securing enough to eat for those who depend on them.
We will do what we know we must and what so many Americans have long trusted us to do: to remind our leaders that those who are most vulnerable are counting on them to provide a stable and secure safety net so that they can move out of poverty. That it is their job to set aside partisan politics and elevate that which is best about America – its commitment to our democracy, with all its diversity, and without judgement or prejudice. So that together, we can transform how it is, into how it should be.