Rep. John Lewis Takes Issue with Farm Bill

Today the House passed what is known as the "Farm Bill", H.R. 2642,  the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013.  The bill required the House and Senate to confer to come up with a compromise that could pass both Houses. The compromise included cuts to SNAP benefits at a time when poverty and hunger are on the rise in America.  Rep. Lewis was the only Democrat in the Georgia delegation to vote against the bill.

            In a statement to the congressional record Lewis said, "This is a very good effort... and I want to commend every member of the conference committee ....  For months they worked hard and found compromise on many difficult issues.....[but]...I am disappointed to say that I cannot support the final product.  During these trying economic times every cent counts for those who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.  ... I believe in my heart and soul that we cannot continue to reduce the deficit at the expense of those who are struggling from no fault of their own....The poor are getting poorer."

            "We are cutting policies that help to sustain people, policies that helped create a middle class.  These actions threaten to take us back to a time in America when the poor were simply left to fend for themselves," he added. "People lived in grinding poverty, and there was very little opportunity to move up. In the richest nation in the world, people should not have to struggle to meet their basic needs or struggle just to survive."

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