Farm Bill Update—Negotiations Continue as Amendment to Block Grant SNAP Moves Forward

Farm Bill Update from Feeding America
As you may know, negotiations on the Farm Bill continue in the Senate.  While much remains uncertain at this moment, we wanted to update the network on the latest developments.  Here is what we know:
About 220 amendments have been proposed for the Senate Farm Bill.  As a result, Senate leadership and the Agriculture Committee continue to negotiate which amendments will be brought to the floor for a vote.  As of the morning of June 13, an agreement has yet to be reached, which could put a final vote on the Senate Farm Bill in jeopardy. 
While committee leadership continues to negotiate on an overall agreement on amendments, Majority Leader Reid moved to allow debate on two amendments. Today, the Senate will debate a commodity title amendment on sugar–of which we have no position—and a nutrition title amendment to block grant SNAP (Paul #2182)—which we strongly oppose.  For more information on the SNAP block grant amendment, click here.
While the Paul block grant amendment is expected to fail, it is important to demonstrate strong, bipartisan opposition in the Senate.  This proposal does have support in the House, so showing strong Senate opposition will send a clear message to the House.
As a result, we are focusing our efforts on key Senators that we believe we need to shore up their support or have an opportunity to persuade to oppose the amendment.  While the Feeding America DC team reaches out to the staff of these target Senators, we will activate the food banks serving those states to weigh-in to provide additional constituent pressure.  
This is a very fluid situation.  As the process unfolds, we may need to mobilize the full network to generate phone calls and emails to Senators.  However, because of the uncertainty surrounding what will happen next, we are focusing our immediate efforts on showing strong opposition to the proposal to block grant SNAP.  
While the Senate votes on these two amendments, committee leadership will continue to negotiate on a broader package of amendments.  If no agreement is reached, debate on the Farm Bill will close for now.  If an agreement is reached, debate will proceed, with a final vote likely within the next two weeks.
In the meantime, be on the lookout for another update as we learn more.  We understand this is a complicated and complex process, so if you have questions, please contact Brett Weisel at bweisel@feedingamerica.org.  And please let us know if you hear anything from your Senate offices. 

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