Rep. Adams Warns Republican Farm Bill will Increase Hunger in Greater Charlotte
Congresswoman Opposes Cuts to Nutrition Embedded in Recently Released Partisan Framework
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D., a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, warned that the House Republicans’ newly released Farm Bill proposal, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, would exacerbate food insecurity in North Carolina. Changes the partisan plan makes to how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP) works would pull $30 billion out of SNAP participants’ pockets.
“The Farm Bill should feed people, not take food off their table. According to the USDA, over 10 percent of households in the 12th Congressional District participate in SNAP. That’s over 32,000 families. Under the Republican bill introduced today, hungry families in North Carolina would have their benefits cut by over $1 billion. How can we take food out of the mouths of children?” said Rep. Adams.
“Since I’ve been in Congress, I’ve been advocating for a stronger, better SNAP. I have been clear – including at the one, single hearing our Committee had about nutrition – that any cuts to SNAP would be a non-starter for those of us interested in passing a truly bipartisan bill. You can’t be healthy if you’re hungry, and this kind of partisan game and its delays hurt our farmers and the families they feed. I echo the participants in my Adams Hunger Initiative when I say: it’s time to agree on a Farm Bill that protects SNAP and get it done now.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 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. Chairman G.T. Thompson’s (R-PA-15) 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.
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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.