DeLauro Statement On House Farm Bill

Statement

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) released the following statement on the 2013 Farm Bill that was approved by the House Agriculture Committee today. DeLauro is a senior Democrat on the committee that funds the USDA, which administers the food stamp program, and a longtime nutrition and anti-hunger champion. When the last Farm Bill was passed in 2008 DeLauro was a leader in the effort to increase support for anti-hunger and nutrition programs.

"In the past 30 years of fashioning policies aimed at debt and deficit reduction, as is being done in this Farm Bill, the key programs that help the most vulnerable among us have been protected. That includes Food Stamps, our country's most important effort to deal with hunger in America and ensure that families can put food on the table for their kids. Tragically, the House Farm Bill seeks to destroy that precedent.

"Trying to cut the deficit by slashing Food Stamps is counter-productive. It does more harm than good, especially to the millions of low-income families, seniors, and children who would lose access to Food Stamps. Cutting Food Stamps so drastically is a dereliction of our responsibilities to the American people. I hope my colleagues stand up for kids and families and oppose the cuts in this bill if it comes before the entire House of Representatives."

The bill passed tonight would cut $20 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as Food Stamps. That $20 billion translates into:

· As many as two million low-income Americans losing access to SNAP

· Roughly 210,000 low-income children kicked off the free school lunch program

· Many more low-income Americans, mostly seniors and working families with children, losing their benefits due to changes in the relationship between SNAP and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Source