Representative Salinas Warns Partisan Farm Bill Will Increase Hunger in Oregon
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06), who serves on the House Agriculture Committee, warned that House Republicans’ partisan approach to the Farm Bill would exacerbate food insecurity in Oregon’s Sixth District.
“The Farm Bill should help feed more people, not take food off their dinner tables. Unfortunately, the bare-bones framework presented by House Republicans would only exacerbate food insecurity in Oregon and across the country,” said Rep. Salinas. “According to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, over 42,000 households in Oregon’s Sixth District alone rely on SNAP to help feed their families. Under the Republican plan, these families would see drastic cuts to their benefits. That is entirely unacceptable.”
Rep. Salinas continued: “I have always had an open-door policy with my Republican colleagues about my willingness to work together to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill. Democrats have also been very clear about the areas where we can find consensus and move this legislation across the finish line. Cutting SNAP and assistance to farmers was never on the table, yet House Democrats and I were told to “take it or leave it.” I am so disappointed to see Republicans pushing these and other partisan demands in a poorly thought-out proposal that has no chance of becoming law. If my GOP colleagues truly value bipartisanship like they say they do, they should return to the negotiating table and help us craft a serious bill—like the one put forth by Chairwoman Stabenow in the Senate. Unlike Chairman Thompson’s proposal, the Senate plan would reduce food insecurity and finally level the playing field for Oregon families and rural communities.”
Background
SNAP provides low-income Americans, the majority of whom are children and seniors, with an average of $2 per person, per meal, to ensure America stays fed and healthy. It is widely acknowledged as our nation’s most effective anti-poverty program.
42,233 households in Oregon’s Sixth District are enrolled in SNAP. Among those households, 52.4% had children, 48.5% had a family member with a disability, and 33.6% were elderly. Furthermore, a 2021 study estimated that there are about 31,000 veterans in Oregon who rely on SNAP benefits. That number is likely higher as food insecurity has increased nationwide following the pandemic.
Chairman G.T. Thompson’s (PA-15) Farm Bill outline makes changes to the formula used to determine SNAP benefit amounts, which would result in an approximately $30 billion cut to SNAP benefits nationwide and potentially eliminate multiple days’ worth of benefits per month.
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