Congresswoman Barbara Lee Rejects Farm Bill SNAP Cuts, Votes to Protect Hungry Americans from Cuts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2014
Contact: Carrie Adams (202) 225-2661
Washington, D.C.— Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement on the 2014 Farm Bill:
“This farm bill creates winners and losers. The winners? Big agri-business and crop insurance subsidies. The losers? The millions of Americans who will have fewer meals on the table due to $8.5 billion in cuts to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called Food Stamps). This is in addition to the $11 billion cut to SNAP families endured in November with the expiration of the stimulus bill funds.
“While these cuts as far less than what Republicans had wanted, as our nation’s first line of defense against hunger and vital lifeline for families all across the country who are living on the edge, any cut is unacceptable.
“While parents struggle to consistently get food on the table, this bill cuts $8.5 billion in funding for nutrition assistance but increases spending on crop insurance by $5.7 billion. That is unacceptable.
“Cutting SNAP is not who we are as a nation. Instead of burning this bridge over troubled water, we must recommit to lifting people out of poverty by creating good paying jobs and ensuring economic opportunity so that we can reignite the American dream.”
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Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov.
Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees, the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip, former chair of both the Congressional Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus. She serves as chair of the Whip’s Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity and is co-founder and co-chair of the Out of Poverty Caucus.