Farm Bill Passes House and Senate

Today, the Farm Bill cleared the House on a vote of 369-47 after passing in the Senate yesterday by a vote of 87-13. The bi-partisan agreement reflects two years of committed, steadfast advocacy from the local, state and national anti-hunger community to protect and strengthen SNAP from proposals that would have increased hunger and hardship for low-income Californians statewide.

In California’s Central Valley, where nearly 1 in 4 Valley residents are food insecure, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) has been a champion for federal nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, CalFresh in California) that help put food within reach for struggling Valley families.

Congressman Costa, who is a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and served on the Farm Bill Conference Committee released a joint statement with the California Association of Food Banks, Western Growers, Fresno Bridge Academy, the Merced County Board of Supervisors and Audubon California highlighting the benefits the Farm Bill will bring to Valley farmers and families.

“As a member of the Farm Bill Conference Committee, I am proud to support this bipartisan, bicameral Farm Bill,” said Rep. Costa. “A third-generation farmer myself, I have the honor and privilege of representing one of the largest and most diverse agricultural regions in the world. This bill is good for the San Joaquin Valley, California agriculture, and farmers and families throughout the nation. It feeds Americans and supports our agriculture producers as they work to put food on dinner tables across the U.S. every night.”

“We are pleased that the farm bill negotiators have completed their task as the 2018 Farm Bill acknowledges the growing importance of the specialty crop industry to American agriculture and offers real progress on many of our top priorities,” said Tom Nassif, President and CEO of Western Growers. “We applaud the committee leaders, conferees like Rep. Costa, and staff for their diligence in producing a strong, bipartisan farm bill.”

“We applaud Representative Costa’s leadership on SNAP and other core nutrition issues that impact Valley residents in the Farm Bill,” said Rachel Tucker, Senior Policy Associate at California Association of Food Banks. “We are pleased that the conference report chooses to protect SNAP and invests in proven supports like SNAP Employment & Training that are so valuable to our efforts to reduce hunger and poverty as opposed to the harsh cuts proposed in the House bill that would have worsened hunger and hardship.”

Click here to read the full press release.