DeLauro Statement on House Farm Bill

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) releasedthe following statement on the 2013 Farm Bill that was approved by the HouseAgriculture Committee today. DeLauro is a senior Democrat on the committee thatfunds the USDA, which administers the food stamp program, and a longtimenutrition and anti-hunger champion. When the last Farm Bill was passed in 2008DeLauro was a leader in the effort to increase support for anti-hunger andnutrition programs.

"In the past 30 years of fashioning policies aimed at debtand deficit reduction, as is being done in this Farm Bill, the key programsthat help the most vulnerable among us have been protected. That includes FoodStamps, our country's most important effort to deal with hunger in America andensure that families can put food on the table for their kids. Tragically, theHouse Farm Bill seeks to destroy that precedent.

"Trying to cut the deficit by slashing Food Stamps iscounter-productive. It does more harm than good, especially to the millions oflow-income families, seniors, and children who would lose access to FoodStamps. Cutting Food Stamps so drastically is a dereliction of our responsibilitiesto the American people. I hope my colleagues stand up for kids and families andoppose the cuts in this bill if it comes before the entire House ofRepresentatives."

The bill passed tonight would cut $20 billion from theSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as FoodStamps. That $20 billion translates into:

· As many as two million low-income Americanslosing access to SNAP

· Roughly 210,000 low-income children kicked offthe free school lunch program

· Many more low-income Americans, mostly seniorsand working families with children, losing their benefits due to changes in therelationship between SNAP and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program(LIHEAP)

Please see this reportfor more information.