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USCCB, other Catholic organizations offer 12 recommendations on farm bill

November 06, 2013

In a joint letter to members of Congress, two committee chairmen of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops joined the leaders of Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services, the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, and the National Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in offering recommendations related to the 2013 Farm Bill.

Among the recommendations:

  • “Reject cuts and structural changes to SNAP [the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] that will harm vulnerable children, seniors, unemployed and underemployed people, and persons with disabilities.”
  • “Reject provisions tied to state 'work requirements' that simply remove people, including parents with children as young as one, from SNAP due to their inability to find a job in an economy with continued high unemployment. People who want to work, and their families, should not be punished because of local economic conditions outside their control.”
  • “Protect conservation programs from further cuts. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) help small and moderate-sized farming and ranch operations to be better stewards of the land.”
  • “Rather than target SNAP and other programs that serve poor and hungry people, find savings in the Farm Bill by reducing fraud and wasteful spending in the crop insurance subsidy program.”

 


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  • Posted by: [email protected] - Nov. 06, 2013 8:00 PM ET USA

    Agree the the Farm Bill is full of pork and there is lots of fraud but the SNAP (Food Stamps) program is also full of fraud and waste. This program does nothing but build dependency. Cut it by 30% and ensure the truly needy are getting it. Go back to the welfare work requirements that Obama blithely got rid of. Illegally I might add.