2018 Farm Bill Negotiations to Renew
As shared in last month’s Network Connection, the Farm Bill authorized by Congress in 2014 expired on 9/30/18, as the Farm Bill Conference Committee did not come to a resolution on differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill prior to the deadline. This means that benefits related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will stay intact – but only for the time being. The House will soon return from its recess now that mid-term elections have been held, and many advocates are hopeful that the conference committee will continue its negotiations to come to an agreement on the differing versions of the House and Senate bills.
Prior to the expiration of the bill at the end of September, conference committee members indicated that if a new version of the bill is not finalized by the end of December, programs like SNAP could be affected – in turn negatively affecting many folks served by Community Action Agencies around Missouri.
Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler is the only Missourian serving on the conference committee, making her an ideal legislator to reach in our Network’s advocacy efforts for a strong version of the Farm Bill that protects SNAP. The letter our Network submitted to the congresswoman in August asked her to consider the Senate version of the Farm Bill, which includes strong provisions for SNAP – unlike the House version, which would implement stringent work-tracking requirements for SNAP recipients and likely reduce or end benefits for many of the folks served by Community Action.
With Farm Bill negotiations to renew soon, we encourage you to reach out to Rep. Hartzler to follow up on our Network’s request. If you need assistance in your advocacy efforts, please feel free to contact
Jessica Hoey
, Missouri CAN’s Director of External Affairs. For more detailed information about the 2018 Farm Bill, check out this article from
Harvest Public Media
.