Farm Bill Updates: Time to Take Action

On Friday, April 20th, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman, Debbie Stabenow, released a 900-page chairman’s mark of the Farm Bill. (A chairman’s mark is the first draft of the bill, which is used as the starting point of creating the final bill during a process called mark-up.) The full Senate Agriculture committee is scheduled to meet today, Thursday, April 26th, to discuss the legislation. Now is the time to take action.

Sign the Jewish Petition for a Just Farm Bill and make your voice heard that you want American food and agricultural policies to reflect your Jewish values. Urge the federal government to enact policies that pursue long-term approaches to eradicating hunger by protecting the most vulnerable, promoting sustainable land use and investing in resilient local food systems.

The 900-page bill is currently promising $26.4 billion in savings over the next decade, largely by ending the current system of direct cash payments and reinvesting in new forms of crop insurance.

Contact your Senator and let them know you are in support of a just farm bill. If you are from a state with a Senator on the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry- like New York, Colorado, Iowa, or, in particular Michigan, the chairwoman’s home state – view the complete list of all 21 members  – it is vital to make your voice heard.

Let your senator know to vote “no” on any amendments that will cut funding for SNAP and to support the Gillibrand Amendment to protect children from SNAP cuts and the Casey Farm to School Amendment (which would help regional farmers source local schools) and the Brown Employment and Training amendment (which helps families exit SNAP through job training)

Meetings by this committee will determine the direction of this year’s farm bill and your Senator is participating in them. Sign the petition now.

This is the latest in a series of regular updates on the development of the next Farm Bill which will be provided by Judith Belasco, Director of Programs at Hazon. If you are interested in writing about your work on the Farm Bill, please be in touch.

Further reading:

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