MAZON Slams Senate Republicans’ Farm Bill Proposal as ‘One More Impediment’ to a Truly Bipartisan Bill
This week, Ranking Member John Boozman of the Senate Agriculture Committee released a Farm Bill proposal that largely mirrors the highly divisive House Republicans’ harmful bill that advanced through committee last month. In contrast to the Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow’s framework, Ranking Member Boozman’s proposal would result in an estimated $30 billion cut over the next decade to federal nutrition programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Puerto Rico’s Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and the Summer EBT program. Abby J. Leibman, President & CEO of MAZON, issued the following response:
“This Farm Bill proposal is a non-starter. It fails to move the negotiation process forward in any meaningful way, and it merely serves as an impediment to passing a truly bipartisan bill. With 44 million Americans facing food insecurity, MAZON and our partners have been clear that the next Farm Bill must protect and strengthen safety net programs like SNAP. Rather than providing real solutions, Republicans in Congress continue to use terms like ‘cost neutrality’ and ‘fiscal responsibility’ as a guise, when we know their proposal would result in staggering cuts to SNAP and other safety net programs. We urge policymakers to instead advance the responsible, common-sense, visionary, bipartisan policy solutions outlined in Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow’s Farm Bill proposal, which provides important steps to address food insecurity and reverse the course of hunger in this country.”
In contrast to Ranking Member Boozman’s proposal and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson’s bill, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow’s Farm Bill outline aims to protect the integrity and effectiveness of SNAP, while also advancing several of MAZON’s longtime priorities. Her proposal would remove the Basic Allowance for Housing for military families seeking SNAP, authorize Puerto Rico to transition away from its inadequate Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), and strengthen Tribal food sovereignty with the acknowledgment that Tribes know best how to support their own people.