Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson yesterday announced an agreement to extend the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act, also known as the food and farm bill, through September 30, 2024. The move would ensure continued funding for key programs that support food security and farmers while Congress negotiates a new food and farm bill.
Below is a statement by Karen Perry Stillerman, deputy director of the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
“Congress allowed the food and farm bill to expire 43 days ago, and it’s disappointing to see the lack of progress in negotiating a new bill to safeguard our food supply from extreme weather and other challenges and equip farmers of all kinds with the tools they need to thrive.
“In the short term, it’s a positive development that House and Senate leaders in both parties agree on the need to extend key programs that serve farmers while protecting essential nutrition assistance for low-income households and communities. Their constituents concur. In UCS polling this summer, more than three in four voters in key states see lack of access to food assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, as a threat to their communities. A majority of these respondents want to see Congress focus their energy on making sure people have enough to eat – not further limiting who gets help. Lawmakers should listen to them and protect food access through SNAP.
“But even if Congress passes the proposed extension as part of a government funding package, their work isn’t done. The extension merely affords the agriculture committees breathing room and another chance to write a food and farm bill that the country needs—one that rises to the challenge of the moment by making farm programs more equitable, enabling farmers to thrive in the face of a changing climate and be part of the solution, and creating a more secure and resilient food system for all of us.”