THOMPSON, BIPARTISAN COALITION OF HOUSE MEMBERS VOTE DOWN HARMFUL GOP FARM BILL
June 20, 2013
House Republican’s bill would have drastically cut SNAP, stopping food aid to millions Americans and cut off school lunches and breakfasts to over 200,000 children
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) and a bipartisan coalition of House members voted down H.R. 1947, the House Republican's harmful Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act, or Farm Bill. The House Republican's bill failed by a bipartisan vote of 195-234.
“Today, the House rightfully rejected the Majority's harmful Farm Bill that would have hurt conservation and gutted food programs important to children and working families,” said Thompson. “We need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a bipartisan solution that is fair to our farmers and ranchers, incentivizes conservation, and protects hard working families, seniors and children from devastating cuts that will cause millions to go hungry.”
The House Republican's bill would have cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by $20 billion, stopping food aid to 2 million Americans. The bill would have also cut off school lunches and breakfasts to 210,000 children. Additional amendments were added to the bill that would have resulted in even deeper cuts to SNAP, further disadvantaging people who need help the most.
The Senate passed its version of the bill by a bipartisan vote of 66 to 27 on June 10th. The major difference between the two bills is that the Senate bill cuts SNAP by only $4 billion.
Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
“Today, the House rightfully rejected the Majority's harmful Farm Bill that would have hurt conservation and gutted food programs important to children and working families,” said Thompson. “We need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a bipartisan solution that is fair to our farmers and ranchers, incentivizes conservation, and protects hard working families, seniors and children from devastating cuts that will cause millions to go hungry.”
The House Republican's bill would have cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by $20 billion, stopping food aid to 2 million Americans. The bill would have also cut off school lunches and breakfasts to 210,000 children. Additional amendments were added to the bill that would have resulted in even deeper cuts to SNAP, further disadvantaging people who need help the most.
The Senate passed its version of the bill by a bipartisan vote of 66 to 27 on June 10th. The major difference between the two bills is that the Senate bill cuts SNAP by only $4 billion.
Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
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