Media Contact:
Emily Pickren
epickren@frac.org
202-640-1118
Update (December 20, 4:30 p.m.): President Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill into law.
Statement attributed to James D. Weill, president, Food Research & Action Center
WASHINGTON, December 11, 2018 — The Farm Bill Conference Report, released yesterday evening, protects the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the critical investment that ensures nearly 40 million people who struggle against hunger in this country can afford to put food in their refrigerators and on their tables.
The Food Research & Action Center applauds the hard and committed work of key members on both sides of the aisle who prioritized the needs of those at risk of hunger. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Senate Agriculture ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and House Agriculture ranking member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), in particular, are to be commended for pushing back against the House bill’s proposed SNAP cuts, which would have punished and stigmatized low-income Americans and made hunger and poverty in this country far, far worse. They and other champions in Congress made all the difference in ensuring a positive outcome and reaffirming Congress’ longstanding bipartisan support for protecting SNAP and rejecting weakening provisions.
Also hugely instrumental was the network of anti-hunger advocates and the hundreds of national, state, and community-based groups who lifted their voices to educate policymakers about how the proposed harmful changes to SNAP would impact real people — children, seniors, working families, veterans, and people with disabilities, among others.
There is more work to do in the years ahead to make SNAP fully address the nutritional needs of the millions of people in this country struggling against hunger and to improve their food security and health.
As Congress moves to vote on this legislation, anti-hunger advocates across the country are committed to working with Congress and state legislatures to build on this foundation by strengthening the program, its benefits, and its reach.
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The Food Research & Action Center is the leading national nonprofit organization working to eradicate poverty-related hunger and undernutrition in the United States.
