Celebrate Recent Farm Bill Vote, but Remain Vigilant
You emailed. You called. You joined 167 local, state, regional, and national organizations to tell Congress that the House Farm Bill is a #BadDealforWomen. H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act (AKA the Farm Bill) targets SNAP cuts to older women, parents, children, people with disabilities and their caregivers, domestic violence survivors, and low-wage working women. Last Friday, the House rejected this terrible Farm Bill by a vote of 198-213.
Take a moment to celebrate. But stay vigilant.
Speaker Paul Ryan wants to bring the Farm Bill back to the floor for a revote by Tuesday. And this harmful bill got even worse during the amendment process last week. Our fight to protect against cuts to food assistance for women and families continues.
Another example: Congress may soon consider the Trump Administration’s recent rescissions package—a proposal to cut $15.4 billion from government programs. The proposal includes $2 billion in cuts to the Child Enrollment Contingency Fund in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Congress created this contingency fund to provide states with a “rainy day” fund to provide CHIP services to children in need after emergencies such as natural disasters and recessions. This comes just months after a bipartisan agreement to extend CHIP for another 10 years. This is also just one of many examples of proposed cuts that run counter to the recent bipartisan agreement to increase funding to critical programs for the health and economic security of women and families.
We can celebrate last Friday’s failed vote on the House Farm Bill. But our work is not over. We will remain vigilant. We will continue this fight to increase economic security for ALL of us, and we hope you’ll keep fighting with us.