Even though many
people may not be particularly interested in the Farm Bill pending in the U.S.
Congress, it is a very important matter that deserves the attention of all citizens.
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Robert Gronski,
the policy coordinator for the National Catholic Rural Life Conference,
explains: “The Farm Bill has a profound
impact on farming and nutrition. Three key things the multi-faced bill provides
are: a safety net for farmers, incentives for conservation practices, and food
assistance for low-income families” (Sojournersmagazine, August 2012).
I didn’t realize
until I read Gronski’s article that “nearly
80 percent of the bill’s roughly $100 billion a year in spending goes to the
food-assistance category, most notably to food stamps—the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP], which
now helps feed 46 million people in the U.S.”
Some
Congresspersons, though, want to cut the funding of the farm bill, especially
the amount earmarked for SNAP. Why was I not surprised to hear that?
The
Republican-dominated House of Representatives has refused to pass the bill,
although the Senate passed it back in June. Earlier this month, soon after Representative
Paul Ryan was named as Romney’s choice for the Vice-President nomination, the
President was in Iowa, and he chided Rep. Ryan for failing to vote for the farm
bill.
On the Friday
after the primary election, Claire McCaskill, U.S. Senator from Missouri, and U.S.
Representative Todd Akin, who is seeking her Senate seat in November, met in
Jefferson City where they both spoke to the Missouri Farm Bureau. When Rep. Akin
was asked by a farmer why he has opposed the farm bill, which he also did not
vote for in 2002 or 2007, he explained that the majority of the spending in the
legislation goes to food stamps and other entitlement programs.
The current farm
bill ends on September 30, and the House will likely not approve a new one
before then. Many Representatives, such as Rep. Akin and especially those
affiliated with the Tea Party, insist on substantial cuts to SNAP, even though
that would deprive many people of necessary
nutrition.
As do most
conservative Republicans, Rep. Akins, who is a seminary graduate and an active
churchman, says that it is up to individuals and churches to help the poor, not
the government. But I wonder, would it even be possible for individuals and
churches to do all that is necessary for all those in need?
For example,
consider my home county, Worth County, Missouri, with a population of 2,150. (Yes,
it’s a very small county.) There are now about 350 people in the county living
below the poverty line. I assume that most of those get help from SNAP (food
stamps). If the farm bill is not passed, or drastically cut as most Republicans
seem to wish, will the churches of Worth County and other people of good will
have the means to step in and provide assistance to those who need it?
Probably not.
Since it is such
an important piece of legislation, affecting so many farmers and especially low-income
people all across the nation, shouldn’t those of us who live in this country
contact our Representatives and urge them to for vote the Farm Bill?
