After months of intense negotiations, the House and Senate have come to an agreement and released a final version of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (H.R. 2), also known as the farm bill. The Senate voted 87-13 in favor of the bill, and the House passed it by a vote of 369-47.
Your advocacy was pivotal in getting us to this point. Thank you for all your work over the past weeks, months, and year! And after a victory like this, it is important to thank your members of Congress who voted for this bill. [Take a few minutes to thank your members of Congress for voting in favor of the bill and protecting SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).] (https://cqrcengage.com/fcnl/app/write-a-letter?2&engagementId=493379)
Farm Bill Victory!
Write Congress and thank them for protecting families struggling with hunger.
The newly-passed Farm Bill protects and improves SNAP (also known as food stamps) by supporting job training and employment activities proven to be successful. It also avoids many of the harmful provisions that were included in the House version of the bill, including the expansion of draconian work requirements that would have taken food assistance away from people struggling to find work.
The final bill stands as a signal that the way to achieve bipartisan progress is to avoid cuts and harmful changes to basic assistance programs. Taking health care, nutrition, and housing assistance away from people will not help them get a job.
[Evidence] (https://www.fcnl.org/updates/why-work-requirements-don-t-work-1226) [shows] (https://www.fcnl.org/updates/a-warning-from-indiana-beware-of-medicaid-work-requirements-1276) that work requirements make it harder for people who are struggling to maintain steady employment to access basic assistance. With a vote in favor of this bill, members of Congress will also show that they reject this approach in the farm bill. We urge them to continue to stand strong against similar proposals in future legislation and from the administration.
[Please take a moment to thank Congress for voting for this bill.] (https://cqrcengage.com/fcnl/app/write-a-letter?2&engagementId=493379)
