Rep. Adams Votes “No” on “Partisan” Farm Bill, $30 Billion in SNAP cuts
Congresswoman Criticizes “un-Christian” cuts, inadequate support for farmers, as Farm bill is forced through committee during late night hearing
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, blasted the House Republicans’ Farm Bill, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, throughout the bill’s markup in the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday. The Farm Bill is an omnibus piece of legislation that governs every part of America’s food and farm system and is passed every five years. Rep. Adams voted “no” on the bill, which passed out of Committee after a twelve-hour hearing.
Rep. Adams criticized her Republican counterparts for draconian cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and their unwillingness to put the needs of Americas children and families first.
"This bill negatively affects our food supply and, ultimately, our quality of life. Hunger is at an all-time high, and rather than looking at ways to address the poverty that makes SNAP necessary in the first place, we are talking about a thirty billion dollar cut to this proven program,” said Rep. Adams.
“This bill will also cut more than 500 million dollars from the Summer EBT program, which will feed almost a million children in North Carolina who are out of school for the summer. These cuts make it harder for the organizations in my Adams Hunger Initiative to address food insecurity throughout my district. In the one hearing on nutrition we were granted over the past year, my colleagues and I made it clear that any changes to SNAP and the Thrifty Food Plan would threaten the bipartisan process we need to get a Farm Bill passed. This bill punishes poor people, and that is deeply un-Christian,” Rep. Adams said.
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. The Republican Farm Bill proposes changes to the formula used to determine SNAP benefit amounts, which would result in a $30 billion cut to SNAP benefits nationwide if enacted.
In addition to voting against the overall bill, Rep. Adams took votes to protect SNAP funding, to preserve conservation and climate funding originating in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, to protect USDA funding that promotes a regional farm economy, and to crack down on child labor.
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Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. represents North Carolina's 12th Congressional District (Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Cabarrus County) and serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, where she serves as ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee.