Dear Chairwoman Stabenow, Chairman Lucas and Ranking Members Cochran and Peterson:

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Dale Benson
5 years ago
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1 November 12, 2013 The Honorable Debbie Stabenow Chairwoman Senate Committee on Agriculture 328A Russell Building Washington, DC The Honorable Thad Cochran Ranking Member Senate Committee on Agriculture 328A Russell Building Washington, DC The Honorable Frank Lucas Chairman House Committee on Agriculture 1301 Longworth Building Washington, DC The Honorable Collin Peterson Ranking Member House Committee on Agriculture 1301 Longworth Building Washington, DC Dear Chairwoman Stabenow, Chairman Lucas and Ranking Members Cochran and Peterson: The undersigned organizations urge the farm bill conference committee to work in a bipartisan manner to protect and strengthen the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other nutrition programs in a final conference report. Deep cuts and harmful policy changes that would affect nutrition benefits, eligibility, and nutrition education would be major setbacks to efforts to protect families with limited resources against hunger, improve nutrition and health and combat obesity. We strongly oppose the Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act (H.R. 3102) passed by the U.S. House of Representatives because it would cut $38 billion from SNAP. SNAP eligibility changes designed to erect new barriers to participation would prevent millions of seniors, children and families from accessing food assistance causing nearly 4 million low-income individuals to lose their SNAP benefits entirely in 2014 and an average of 3 million individuals each year to lose benefits over the next decade. In addition, 210,000 children would lose free school meals and 850,000 households would see their benefits cut by an average of $90 per month. The House bill would also cut SNAP nutrition education funding for every state, which would reduce the number of SNAP eligible families who receive support for learning strategies on stretching limited food resources to maximize nutrition when money is tight. With record numbers of households and individuals applying for benefits and nutrition program support, we are concerned that every participating SNAP household already faced an automatic reduction in monthly benefits on November 1. Deeper farm bill cuts on top of this scheduled reduction would add additional hardship on low-income families who will already be struggling to avoid hunger as a result of the lower benefit levels. Further, the automatic reduction in SNAP benefits will also make SNAP-Ed more important than ever because of the role it plays in helping families stretch limited food budgets over the course of a month without sacrificing good nutrition. We are keenly aware of the chronic health problems associated with poor nutrition, food insecurity and unhealthy diets. Chronically malnourished children do more poorly in school, are at-risk for learning problems and developmental delays, and exhibit more behavioral problems. Food-insecure adults may need more time off from work for health reasons and are at increased risk of diabetes, hypertension and other chronic diseases. Adequate funding for SNAP, SNAP-Ed

2 and other important nutrition programs is critical to reducing these impacts and improving the public s health. In addition to SNAP and SNAP-Ed, we urge you to protect other critical nutrition programs from harmful cuts and policy changes as well, including: the Emergency Food Assistance Program; the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program; and farmers markets and other community-based programs. The cuts that have been proposed to the nutrition programs would have a direct and devastating impact on low-income children, families, and seniors who rely on these benefits and services to avoid hunger and maintain healthy diets when resources are limited. The charitable system is already stretched to the breaking point and can t make up the difference in lost federal funding. The farm bill nutrition programs are a critical component of our nation s safety net and should be protected from cuts. We strongly urge you to protect the nutrition programs from cuts and harmful policy changes to ensure that the programs may continue current levels of benefits, eligibility, and services. Sincerely, National organizations Academic Pediatric Association Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Advocates for Better Children's Diets American Academy of Pediatrics American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance AIDS United American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network American College of Preventive Medicine American Diabetes Association American Heart Association American Pediatric Society American Public Health Association Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs Association of Public Health Laboratories Association of State Public Health Nutritionists Bernardine Franciscan Sisters Center for Global Policy Solutions Center for Science in the Public Interest ChangeLab Solutions Consumer Federation of America Defeat Diabetes Foundation Earth Day Network First Focus Campaign for Children Food & Water Watch Healthy Teen Network Hepatitis Foundation International Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future

3 League of United Latin American Citizens Meals On Wheels Association of America Mental Health America National Association of County and City Health Officials National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities National Congress of Black Women, Inc. National Health Care for the Homeless Council National Research Center for Women & Families National WIC Association Nemours Partnership for Prevention PolicyLink Public Health Institute Shape Up America! Share Our Strength Society for Pediatric Research Trust for America's Health Society for Public Health Education State, regional and local organizations Agape Love Multipurpose Center Joseph's Closet (N.Y.) Alliance for a Just Society (Wash.) Barnes County City-County Health District (N.D.) Boston Public Health Commission Broadalbin Ecumenical Food Pantry (N.Y.) California Center for Public Health Advocacy California Public Health Association-North California WIC Association Chicago Women's AIDS Project Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition (Wash.) Community Development Corporation Resource Consortium, Inc. (Ohio) Claire Heureuse Community Center, Inc (N.Y.) Clay County Public Health Center (Mo.) Community Servings (Mass.) Delaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families Delaware Public Health Association FACES for the Future Coalition (Calif.) Fair Food Network (Mich.) Farm to Table (N.M.) First Free Methodist Church (N.Y.) First United Methodist Church of Schenectady, NY Gilead Food Pantry (N.Y.) Gray Nuns of the Sacred Heart (Pa.) Greater Birmingham Ministries (Ala.) Greenwood Lake Food Pantry (N.Y.) Hawaii Public Health Association Health First Wisconsin Health Innovations YMCA (Tenn.)

4 Heavenbound Food Pantry (N.Y.) Hoosick Area Church Association (N.Y.) Hyde Park Food Pantry (N.Y.) ICAN Housing Solutions (Ohio) Illinois Public Health Institute Interfaith Sponsoring Committee, BISCO (La.) Iowa Public Health Association Jo Daviess County Housing Authority (Ill.) John Wesley Health Education Center (Miss.) Latino Coalition for a Healthy California Liberty Prairie Foundation (Ill.) LiveWell Colorado Louisiana Public Health Association Maine Public Health Association Malcolm X Center for Self Determination (S.C.) Michigan Public Health Association Missouri Association of Local Public Health Agencies Missouri Public Health Association Montana Public Health Association Moveable Feast (Md.) Neighborhood Health Plan (Mass.) New Jersey Public Health Association New Mexico Public Health Association New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council New York State Public Health Association North Carolina Alliance for Health North Carolina Public Health Association North Dakota Public Health Association Ohio Public Health Association Operation Compassion Food Pantry (N.Y.) Our Lady of Fatima Food Pantry (N.Y.) Person County Health Department (N.C.) Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada Project Bread (Mass.) Promise the Children (Mass.) Protecting Arizona's Family Coalition Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York Rockland Independent Living Center, Inc. (N.Y.) Schroon Lake Food Pantry (N.Y.) SocioEnergetics Foundation South Carolina Public Health Association Southern California Public Health Association Sullivan County Federation for the Homeless (N.Y.) Summit County Board of Health (Ohio) Tennessee Public Health Association The St. Patrick's (N.Y.) The Reinvestment Fund Troy Larger Food Pantry (N.Y.) Upstream Public Health (Ore.)

5 Vecinos Unidos (Conn.) Walden Chapel Health Education Center (Miss.) Witnesses to Hunger (Pa.) Wolf s Enterprises Human and Civil Rights Advocacy (Mont.) Worcester Food Pantry (Mass.) Young People's Healthy Heart Program at Mercy Hospital (N.D.) Cc: House and Senate farm bill conferees

Dear Chairmen Blunt and Cole and Ranking Members Murray and DeLauro:

Dear Chairmen Blunt and Cole and Ranking Members Murray and DeLauro: March 25, 2015 The Honorable Roy Blunt Chairman U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20501 The Honorable Patty Murray Ranking Member U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20501 The Honorable Tom Cole Chairman U.S. House of