Urge your Senators or Representative on the Agriculture Committees to support a Farm Bill that feeds hungry people, promotes stewardship of creation, supports family farmers, and helps rural America thrive!

Take Action Now!

ACTION: As a member of the Senate or House Agriculture Committees, your members are expected take up the Farm Bill very soon to consider how our nation's agriculture policies will impact hungry people at home and abroad, family farms, stewardship of creation and how to help rural communities thrive. Take this opportunity to call or e-mail your Senators or Representative on the Agriculture Committee and tell him or her to support a fair Farm Bill and to oppose cuts to critical programs that help people and communities in need. Urge the Committees to support policies that address:

• Domestic Hunger and Nutrition: With continued high unemployment and a struggling economy, Congress should support access to adequate and nutritious food for those in need and to oppose attempts to weaken or restructure these programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); 

• International Food Security and Development: The Food for Peace program saves people's lives in times of dire emergencies and combats chronic hunger in poor communities around the world. Support reforms to Food for Peace that give aid workers on the ground more flexibility to employ interventions best suited to local conditions and replace monetization. The Administration's budget proposed major changes to food aid that would provide similar flexibility. Urge Congress to adopt such flexibilities in authorizing legislation that also protects funding for emergency assistance and food security development projects;  

• Farm Subsidies: It is important to continue a reasonable amount of support for our commodity and dairy farmers. However, given current high commodity prices and federal budget constraints, agricultural subsidies and direct payments can be reduced overall, and targeted to small and moderate-sized farms, especially minority owned-farms. Government resources should assist those who truly need assistance and support those who comply with environmentally sound and sustainable farming practices;  

• Conservation and Stewardship: Support full funding for conservation initiatives that promote stewardship of the land and environmentally sound agriculture practices. These programs provide technical assistance and financial incentives for farmers and ranchers to adopt practices aimed at fostering healthy, productive and non-eroding soils, clean air and water, energy savings and wildlife habitat;  

• Rural Development: Rural communities and small towns are the backbone of the social and economic life of America. Effective policies and programs are needed to encourage rural development and promote the culture and well-being of these communities.  

BACKGROUND:

The Catholic community brings both deeply rooted principles and experience to this debate. Through many programs and ministries rooted in our faith tradition, we feed and assist millions of people living in poverty both at home around the world, support rural communities and farmers in need, and help promote policies to care for creation.

The Farm Bill affects us all, but most importantly, it impacts those who are hungry, living in poverty, and struggling to keep farming a viable way of life. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in partnership with Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services and the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, supports important provisions in the 2013 Farm Bill that uphold the life and dignity of the human person and promote stewardship of creation.

CURRENT SITUATION:

Last year Congress chose to extend the current Farm Bill for one year but is now considering how to craft this legislation before it expires at the end of September, 2013. Both the Senate and House Agriculture Committees are soon expected to begin deliberation on the 2013 Farm Bill. In the House, there will be significant pressures to drastically cut the SNAP program, conservation programs and other programs that serve hungry and vulnerable people in need. The Senate will be considering lesser cuts to the SNAP program and how to restructure agriculture subsidies.

USCCB POSITION/CHURCH TEACHING:
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI stated that "Liberation from the yoke of hunger is the first concrete expression of the right to life." The U.S. bishops and their Catholic partners also remind Congress that food is a fundamental human right. In their recent letter they stated, "This is a crucial time to build a more just framework that puts poor and hungry people first, serves small and moderate-sized family farms, promotes sustainable stewardship of the land and helps vulnerable farmers and rural communities both at home and in developing countries."  

The USCCB and other Catholic organizations also recently joined with an additional 100 organizations, urging Congress to support and protect the SNAP program from cuts and changes that would harm vulnerable and hungry people in need. You can read the letter by clicking here.  

Take Action Now!   

For information, updates and alerts on the Farm Bill, see the USCCB Farm Bill page click here. Thank you for your continued dedication and advocacy.

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