Tag Archives: Budget

Secretary’s Column: Ready to Help Pass a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill


Posted by HFHP Coalition
Cross-posted from USDA

By Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

In recent months, the Federal budget has dominated the conversation here in Washington. At the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we have been working hard on mission critical priorities, even as we implement mandatory across-the-board budget cuts.

The good news is that our proactive efforts to cut costs have saved more than $828 million in recent years, putting us in a better position to deliver important programs.

But we also have not lost sight of a key requirement for these programs to continue: passage of a comprehensive, multiyear Food, Farm and Jobs Bill.

In January, Congress took short-term action to extend many 2008 Farm Bill programs for nine months. Those programs will expire in September, limiting their effectiveness and providing no long-term certainty for farmers, ranchers and rural communities.

As Congress returns to Washington in the coming days, leaders from both parties have signaled a willingness to come together and get a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill passed. That is promising news. USDA intends to provide whatever technical assistance we can to help Congress pass a long-term, comprehensive bill.

A Food, Farm and Jobs Bill would allow USDA to continue our record accomplishments on behalf of the American people, while providing new income opportunities across rural America.

It would enable USDA to further expand markets for agricultural products at home and abroad, strengthen conservation efforts, create new opportunities for local and regional food systems and grow the biobased economy.

It would maintain important agricultural research, and ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all Americans. A comprehensive bill would also continue programs that directly help rural communities – such as the 110 grants USDA awarded this week under our Value-Added Producer Grant program to help rural small businesses manufacture new products, expand local food systems and create jobs.

We have not lost sight of the importance of a long-term Food, Farm and Jobs Bill – and I know folks across rural America are counting on Congress to get the job done as soon as possible. We stand ready to help in any way we can.

For the original posting and an audio version, click here.


Tell the Senate: America Depends on Our Nutrition Programs


Posted by HFHP Coalition
Action Alert from the Public Health Institute

Wednesday the Senate Budget Committee is set to consider proposals that would slash billions from our country’s nutrition programs—reducing funding that provides SNAP (food stamps) to over 47 million Americans, and completely eliminating the nutrition education program SNAP-Ed. As budget conversations continue over the next few days, a proposal on the table from Senator Roberts, to slash $36 billion, is expected to be the first of many misdirected attempts to balance the budget by literally taking healthy foods off of people’s plates. The proposed cuts could go even higher, if we don’t stand up for nutrition programs today.

On the heels of last week’s devastating sequester cuts, we can’t afford to sever one of the most important safety nets for our poorest families. Cutting nutrition programs won’t reduce poverty, stop children from going hungry or provide resources that improve diets.

Please make a call today to the Senate Budget Committee and tell them to protect SNAP and SNAP-Ed from any cuts —in Senator Roberts’ proposal, and in any future negotiations.

“Times are tough right now for millions of Americans,” Senator Roberts said when he introduced his bill—but cutting our nutrition programs won’t make things any easier. Today 15% of our nation lives below the poverty line, the highest proportion in a half century. They depend on SNAP, SNAP-Ed, and the emergency food assistance program for the resources, knowledge, and access to healthy foods that they need to prevent hunger and improve diets on tight budgets.

By protecting SNAP-Ed, we support programs like a Pennsylvania SNAP-Ed School Nutrition initiative that resulted in a 50% reduction in obesity among 4th and 5th graders. We support Harvest of the Month in Michigan and California, which links farmers, schools and grocery stores and increases the purchase and consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Click here to join PHI and nutrition advocates across the country. Make a call today to the Senate Budget Committee and tell them to protect SNAP and SNAP-Ed from any cuts—now and in future negotiations—and oppose Roberts’ proposal. (We’ve made it easy with phone numbers and suggested talking points.)

Thank you for your help.

Matthew Marsom
Vice President of Public Health Policy and Advocacy


Farm Bill Budget Visualizer


Posted by HFHP Coalition

From the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future

The Farm Bill Budget Visualizer, a project of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, uses interactive “treemap” technology to share information about the budget of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, aka the 2008 Farm Bill. Treemapping uses nested rectangles to display data, allowing users to “see” the federal funding received by programs within the Bill, and to examine how funding has been allocated across a range of issues from public health to commodity grain production to conservation.

The primary goal of the Budget Visualizer is to serve as an education aid that will improve understanding of the Bill, and that will help users identify and share information about issues of concern. The Visualizer and its underlying budgetary data (not otherwise available) will also be useful to advocates, policy-makers, researchers and the media.

Click here for the Farm Bill Budget Visualizer.