The 34 House and Senate conferees begin hearings and negotiations this week to hammer out a combined Farm Bill based on the two bills passed earlier this year. For public input, this is our last opportunity to improve the bill through reforms and insist on decent levels of funding for nutrition and conservation programs. Ohio's Marcia Fudge has been named to the Conference Committee.

National Catholic Rural Life, United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, Catholic Relief Services and others have signed onto a number of letters to Congress about our priorities, see joint letters with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. We continue to encourage our network to contact Representatives and Senators and insist on a fair and just farm bill for low-income families needing food assistance and family farmers who strive to be good stewards of the land.

Visit the NCRL website for more about the Farm Bill.

This past week, Catholic Charities USA has rallied their network to speak out on the need for SNAP. They have called for people to sign a petition: As Congress returns to Washington, key members of Congress will be tasked with finding agreement on a bill that provides funding for a key anti-hunger program that helps ensure access to healthy and affordable food for over 46 million people across the nation. Sign the petition to protect this important program! Or, even better, send an email to Congress by clicking here for the CCUSA CapWiz page.

The Senate version of the farm bill, which includes funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), included a cut of $4.5 billion over 10 years to the key anti-hunger program. The House passed a separate bill authorizing $40 billion in cuts to SNAP over the next decade.

Both the House and Senate bills include reductions to SNAP, and both would have an impact on those receiving aid from this crucial program. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Senate's version of the bill would cause an estimated 500,000 households see their benefits cut by an average $90 per month. It also found that the House bill would cause nearly 3 million households to lose eligibility for SNAP, and another 850,000 households see their benefits fall significantly.

 Visit the USCCB page to read all the actions, principles and advocacy that has been and is being done in regard to the Farm Bill. 

October 22, 2013: Lawsuit Filed Against the Controlling Board Action that Expanded Medicaid

October 21, 2013: Controlling Board Approves Medicaid Expansion [MORE].
  

Ohio website regarding Medicaid eligibility: www.benefits.gov Information for applying for Medicaid benefits, including Ohio's new expansion program for persons with income between 90% and 138% of the federal poverty level.