Farm Bill Priorities w. Reps. Jim McGovern & Chellie Pingree

Welcome back to “Off the Cuff with Rep. Huffman.”

In this week’s episode, I join two of my colleagues to talk about the Farm Bill. Since 1933, Congress has come together about every five years every to debate and pass our government’s primary agricultural and food policy legislation. Despite its name, the policies affected by the Farm Bill reach beyond American farms, impacting land conservation, rural economic development, and nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Just yesterday — after we recorded our podcast conversation — the Republican majority passed out of committee a hyper-partisan Farm Bill. As we feared and discussed in this episode, the Republican proposal was drafted behind closed doors, targeting SNAP — commonly called food stamps — with nearly $20 billion in cuts. 40 million Americans currently rely on SNAP, and it has proven to help struggling families overcome food insecurity and poverty.

The Republicans’ Farm Bill also strips away important conservation programs, as well as local and regional agriculture grants that support struggling farmers. I am committed to fighting for a better Farm Bill, one that protects and expands SNAP, supports our rural communities, enhances environmental stewardship, and fosters agricultural reform so that we can end food insecurity and malnutrition in our country.

In this episode, I am joined by my colleagues Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) to talk about how we can make the Farm Bill work for all Americans.

• Rep. McGovern (D-MA) is the ranking Democratic member of the House Agriculture Committee’s Nutrition Subcommittee and is one of the leading voices in the fight against hunger in Congress.
• Rep. Pingree (D-ME) serves on the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. She’s helped lead the fight in Congress for policies that support sustainable and organic agriculture.

Tune in for a conversation ranging from the importance of SNAP funding, to food waste, to GMO labelling, and much more!

Enjoy!