November 16, 2007

Senate debate on the 2007 Farm Bill (S. 2302) is being held up by disagreements between the parties on what types of amendments will be considered. On November 16th, the Senate fell just five votes short of the 60 needed to limit debate (the so-called cloture vote) and speed up final Senate action on S. 2302. After the vote, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) reported that he will try to negotiate by phone with Democratic and Republican Senators over the two week Thanksgiving recess period (November 17th – December 3rd) in hopes of reaching a bipartisan agreement to move the Bill forward when the Senate resumes on December 4th. Chairman Harkin, however, also has not ruled out another attempt to invoke cloture in order to get action on the bill.

It is urgent that the Senate finish its work on the 2007 Farm Bill and the House and Senate conference a final bill. Hungry people need action now.

During the Thanksgiving recess period, please urge your Senators to pass a strong nutrition title of the 2007 Farm Bill. While your Senators are in their home states, use this time to meet with them or call their local offices to convey your message.

What’s At Stake  

Based on newly released data from USDA and the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 35.5 million people living in households in the U.S. that face a constant struggle against hunger. The number increased by 300,000 people between 2005 and 2006. For more information, see FRAC’s release.

The Food Stamp Program and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) are important weapons in the fight against hunger, but both need to be strengthened. For example, food stamp benefits average only $1 a person a meal; and the food stamp monthly minimum benefit has been stuck at a mere $10 since 1977.  Many food pantries report that their shelves are empty or their supplies are at historically low levels.

The 2007 Farm Bill that is pending Senate action contains vital improvements to both food stamps and TEFAP. Raises in benefit levels for many food stamp households, including many elderly who get the minimum benefit, and updating of asset rules will strengthen the Food Stamp Program’s response to hunger. Boosts in funding for TEFAP commodities will help stock food pantry shelves to help serve the growing numbers of families who are squeezed by rising costs of food and fuel and stagnant or declining wages.  

Action Needed

Call Senators: Contact your Senators and urge that the Senate finish its work on the 2007 Farm Bill and pass a Farm Bill with a strong nutrition title as soon as possible in December. A toll-free line to the U.S. Capitol (1-800-826-9624) has been made available by AARP while the Senate Farm Bill is pending.

Ways to Get the Message Across: 1) Meet with your Senators while they are home, including by attending any district office hours, community forums or other public events they are hosting. 2) Invite Senators to visit emergency feeding sites, food stamp outreach projects and other places where they can learn about the struggles local families face. 3) Ask your newspaper to editorialize on the Senate Farm Bill nutrition title and write letters to the editor. The Thanksgiving holiday, the release of new USDA food insecurity data, and recent Senate cloture vote all provide “hooks” for timely editorials and letters. 4) Mount Food Stamp Challenges and/or write op eds that draw lessons from past Challenges to emphasize why food stamp benefit raises in the Farm Bill nutrition title are vitally needed.

Background

The House approved its Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) on July 27th. That bill provides $4.2 billion in new five-year funding for nutrition programs, mainly for food stamps and TEFAP. For food stamps, H.R. 2419, among other things, would raise the minimum benefit, increase the standard deduction, more fully reflect a food stamp household’s expenditures on child care, not count extra combat pay against military families, and allow food stamp households to have more in savings and still be program eligible -- by excluding education savings and retirement accounts and starting to index the $2,000 and $3,000 asset limits applicable to most households and households with elderly and disabled members, respectively. H.R. 2419 also provides $250 million per year and then indexes that amount for TEFAP commodity purchases.

The Senate Agriculture Committee voted out its Farm Bill on October 25th, with $4.3 billion in new five-year funding for nutrition programs (of which $3.2 billion would support improvements in Food Stamp Program benefits and accessibility and TEFAP commodity purchases). On November 1st, Senate Agriculture Committee leaders announced a bipartisan agreement to take more than $1 billion in offsets approved in another part of the bill to further strengthen the Food Stamp minimum benefit and asset tests and to increase TEFAP funding. In addition to the asset rule changes contained in H.R. 2419, the Senate bill would increase asset limits from $2,000 and $3,000 to $3,500 and $4,500, respectively. Several pending amendments would build on those provisions, including a boost in the minimum benefit to a more meaningful level.

Senate floor debate on the Farm Bill began in November but bogged down in the face of unlimited debate and more than 260 pending amendments. When efforts to negotiate limits on amendments failed, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) sought to invoke cloture. More than 150 organizations in support of the nutrition title signed a joint letter urging Senators to vote “yes” on cloture. On November 16th, the cloture motion failed on a vote of 55 to 42, just five short of the 60 needed. Republican Senators voting with Democrats to invoke cloture were Senators Coleman (MN), Grassley (IA), Smith (OR), and Thune (SD). [See roll call voted reported at http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00412] Chairman Harkin will work over the Thanksgiving recess to negotiate a bipartisan agreement, but also has not ruled out another attempt to invoke cloture. 

Feedback and Assistance
For feedback and/or further assistance, contact evollinger@frac.org and eteller@frac.org

Prepared by Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), 1875 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009; 202-986-2200 x3016; www.frac.org