A FINAL Farm Bill?

Well, don't count your chickens before they hatch...  The bill is currently set to be voted on by the full House and Senate on Wednesday, May 14th.  The Bush Administration is threatening to veto the bill.  More on that below, but first a recap of recent events. 

Background

It's been a long time coming, but the House and Senate conference committee finally announced an agreement on the Farm Bill in a press conference on May 8.  Click here for the House of Representatives' Farm Bill website and here for a one page summary of the agreed upon bill coming out of conference, prepared by the House Ag Committee.

With food and fuel costs rising and the economy worsening, anti-hunger and nutrition advocates know the ever-increasing importance of a strong nutrition safety net for struggling, low-income Americans.  The conference agreement represents a significant strengthening of this safety net through improvements to food stamps, emergency food, and school nutrition.  Progress was made on a number (but not all) of the policy recommendations anti-hunger and nutrition advocates sought.  Some highlights include:

- Raising the standard deduction and minimum benefit and indexing them both to inflation

- Supporting working-poor families through removing the cap on dependent care deductions

- Encouraging savings by changing asset limit requirements

- Simplifying the administration of the Food Stamp Program

- Supporting the emergency food system by increasing funding for TEFAP and adjusting this level for food price inflation in the future

- Expanding the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program to more low-income schools

In California, the impact of these provisions is significant.  An estimated 866,000 people would benefit from some of these provisions in California, totaling $589 million over the next 10 years.

For more information on nutrition program improvements in the Farm Bill, see this useful document from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, from which much of the info above comes.

Veto Threat

But, to return to the point made above, the Bush Administration is threatening to veto the bill.  The gist of the President's argument is that farm subsidies to commodity growers is still too high.  The conference bill makes small reforms to the subsidy program, but the Bush Administration does not believe these reforms go far enough. 

CFPA's Position

In a display of the odd politics of the Farm Bill, many progressive advocates from the sustainable agriculture world find themselves in the unfamiliar position of agreeing with the President's veto stance, though perhaps not his politics.  Debates are raging in the blogosphere (click here for an example) about whether to support or oppose a veto. 

In a nutshell, many of those supporting a veto believe that the Farm Bill does not represent significant enough reform to the status quo even though some ground was gained for some programs.  Overall, they believe more progress could, and should, have been made.  Some in this camp believe that a Farm Bill negotiated in a year from now (with a new president and some new members of Congress) might yield better results.

While we agree with many of these sentiments and believe that farm policy must be reformed and more money be invested in programs for nutrition, conservation, and rural development, the need for a stronger nutrition safety net is becoming increasingly apparent, as any quick read of today's headlines will tell you.  Low-income Americans who must choose between feeding their families, buying medication, filling up their gas tanks, and paying their bills and rent cannot wait another year for Congress to act.

Action Steps!

Steps for action below, courtesy of FRAC:

Immediate Action Needed:  1) Call 1-800-826-9624 to thank Members of Congress for the improvements to the nutrition title and to urge them to vote for the Farm Bill Conference Agreement when it comes to the floor.  The toll-free line has been made available by AARP.  2) Sign your organization onto a coalition letter. 3) Ask Republican House members to sign onto a letter being circulated.

Messages:  Thank Members for including a strong Farm Bill nutrition title and urge them to finish the job by voting for the Farm Bill Conference Report, whose new investments include those for: 1) food stamp benefit increases (especially raising and indexing the $10 minimum monthly benefit and standard deduction); 2) greater food stamp access (primarily improving household asset rules); and 3) boosting purchases in The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) by raising and indexing funding. Hungry people can't wait.

Talking Points About What's at Stake:  More than 35.5 million people in the U.S. live in households that face a constant struggle against hunger. Food stamp benefits average a mere $1 a person a meal and are not fully indexed for inflation; the minimum monthly food stamp benefit has been stuck at $10 for three decades. Food stamp household asset limits have been frozen for decades. Many food bank shelves are empty. The $10.361 billion in new ten-year spending for the nutrition title is critical to fund improvements in food stamp benefits, food stamp access and eligibility, and increased commodity purchases for emergency food.

Add your Organization to Sign-On Letter: Click here to add your organization to the coalition letter supporting the Farm Bill Conference Report.

Hunger Action Day Recap

Last week, on May 7th, hundreds of folks (some dressed as vegetables, see picture below) from around the state became anti-hunger lobbyists for the California Hunger Action Coalition's annual Hunger Action Day.  With rising food prices and the worsening economy, the timing was great for these voices to be heard in Sacramento.  Legislative visits focused on advocating for policies to improve food stamps, emergency food, and school meals as well as highlighting the need for including revenue generation as a means for dealing with the state budget crisis.

The picture below shows a broccoli meeting with Assembly Member (and Stampy Award winner) John Laird.

In this issue:

A FINAL Farm Bill?
Hunger Action Day Recap

Nutrition Bills Need Help out of Appropriations
Hearing on Rising Food Costs

News and Notes

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Survey

Stay Tuned: Special May Revise Alert

Sacramento Spotlight: Nutrition Bills Need Help Out of Appropriations

Four of the bills CFPA has sponsored are stalled in the Assembly Appropriations committee, waiting to be released.  Your assistance can help them move.  The following bills are in Approps:

AB 1966 - School Breakfast for Severe Need Schools

AB 2300 - Direct Certification: MediCal and School Meals

AB 2726 - Funding for the Healthy Purchase Pilot Program

AB 2844 - Semi-Annual Reporting for Food Stamps

Please adapt this letter and send it to Assembly Appropriations Committee Chair, Mark Leno, who was awarded the California Hunger Action Coalition's 2006 Hunger Fighter Award.

Hearing on Rising Food Costs

On Thursday, May 15, Assemblymember Jim Beall, an accomplished anti-hunger fighter, will convene an informational hearing entitled "Global Food Crisis: What Can be Done Now to Help California's Low-Income Families?". 

The hearing will examine rising food prices, their impact on low-income families, and what can be done to help.  CFPA's executive director, Ken Hecht, will speak, among others from the advocacy, government, and non-profit communities.

Click here for a media advisory on the hearing.

Details:

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Upon adjournment of the Assembly session

Room 4202, State Capitol

Sacramento

News and Notes

Recently, much attention has been paid to rising food prices and its impact on low-income communities.  Below are some links to some of this media attention as well as other studies and reports relevant to nutrition policy:

CFPA's Director of Legislation, George Manalo-Le Clair, wrote an op-ed featured in Sunday's Sacramento Bee on rising food costs and the need for California to remove barriers to important, federally-funded food assistance programs.

CFPA's Director of the Los Angeles Office, Matt Sharp, offered creative suggestions to strength the school meal programs in this dialogue at The California Endowment, titled, “Thinking Outside the Lunchbox”.  Watch the video here.

Matt was also quoted in La Opinion, a leading Spanish language paper in Los Angeles.  This article describes the impact of the economic downturn and increasing food prices on the nutrition safety net.

A story on National Public Radio's, The California Report, featured rising food costs, hunger, food stamps, and the Farm Bill.

A recent report from the Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley found that cafeteria facilities are an often overlooked, yet key factor, to student health and nutrition.

New data from the California Department of Social Services shows the number of households participating in the Food Stamp Program rising, with the steepest increase in the last year.  (Click on the image below for a larger version.)

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Survey

Now that the Farm Bill may be coming to a close, we know those of you yearning to engage on other federal policies may feel lost and in need of relevant actions you can take. 

Fear not!  Child Nutrition Reauthorization will be happening in 2009 and all the meals programs as well as WIC will be on the table for discussion.

Have your say by filling out our short survey!

Stay Tuned: Special May Revise Alert

The Governor's revision to his January budget will be released this week.  Commonly referred to as the "May Revise", it is expected to be available at 1pm on Wednesday.  We hope to have our analysis of its impact on nutrition programs out as soon as humanly possible following the release of the document.

Contact:  schandran@cfpa.net