Utahns Against Hunger is deeply disappointed in the passage of H.R. 2: The Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, commonly known as the farm bill. If implemented this bill will fundamentally change the food assistance that will be available to working parents, seniors, and veterans.
- The harsh and partisan farm bill that Utah’s House delegation voted for, and the House passed, on Thursday would cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by nearly $19 billion and take away food assistance from 2 million struggling Americans, including children, seniors, and veterans in our state.
- This House farm bill betrays the longstanding bipartisan commitment to making sure people who are struggling have enough to eat.
- The House is ignoring what millions of people across the country know to be true: protecting and strengthening SNAP — not cutting it — is the right way forward. That’s why Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have drafted a better approach: a bipartisan farm bill that does not take away food assistance from eligible households and makes smart investments to improve SNAP.
- It’s now up to the Senate to do better for Utah. We urge Senator Hatch and Senator Lee to support the bipartisan Senate farm bill and reject any harmful amendments that would incorporate provisions from the House bill or make other changes that would take away food assistance from people who are struggling.
- We also call on our Representatives to listen to people in Utah who would be hurt by the House farm bill and reconsider their support for these SNAP cuts and harmful changes. In the end, the House and Senate will need to agree on one version of the farm bill, which gives Utah’s Representatives a second chance to stand up for Utahns by encouraging House leadership to adopt the Senate’s SNAP provisions.
