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Congressman Panetta Statement on the Mark-Up of the 2018 Farm Bill

April 19, 2018

SALINAS, CA – Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-20) released the following statement after the mark-up of the 2018 Farm Bill. Ahead of the expiration of the 2014 Farm Bill on September 30th, 2018, the House Agriculture Committee is working to reauthorize the legislation focused on farm policy, rural development, agriculture research, and federal nutrition programs.

"Yesterday, the House Agriculture Committee held its mark-up of the 2018 Farm Bill. It has been my privilege and priority to work on this Committee to expand opportunities for farmers and farmworkers, support economic growth in rural areas, and alleviate hunger in our communities. Unfortunately, the text of the Farm Bill included an unproven, expensive, and bureaucratic proposal to change the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Close to eighty percent of the funding for the Farm Bill is dedicated to SNAP and over 68,000 individuals on the central coast of California depend on SNAP benefits for their next meal. A majority of the recipients of SNAP benefits are children and seniors, but the program also supports working families, active-duty military, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. Congress should be working to help them effectively transition out of poverty and improve their lives, not implement an untested program that fails to help them make ends meet. I remain committed to working with members on both sides of the aisle to produce a bipartisan Farm Bill that addresses the needs of the agriculture industry while continuing to support those who face hunger."

Following this mark-up, the bill will be brought to the House floor for a vote. The Senate is working on a bipartisan Farm Bill that will be debated and marked-up in the Agriculture Committee next month, and be brought to the Senate floor for a vote. The bills will then be conferenced by members from both the House and the Senate to negotiate one bill to then be voted on in both chambers. If that final bill passes both chambers, it will be sent to the President for signature and become law.