Congressman Mike Rogers made the following statement about H.R. 2, best known as the Farm Bill, and the truth about how it will affect folks across East Alabama.

"The truth is that the agriculture industry makes up over 40 percent of the economy in the State of Alabama. Every five years, Congress has to renew the Farm Bill and the policies that are critical to setting the guidelines for our farmers and producers.

"This year, the Farm Bill will reform the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by incentivizing able-bodied individuals to get work or free training to help pull themselves out of poverty.  This does not apply to children, the elderly, expectant mothers, disabled or caretakers of children.

"The Farm Bill also provides meaningful support this year for Land Grant universities like Auburn and Tuskegee.  It also helps bring quality broadband service to rural areas - like much of East Alabama - by incentivizing providers to offer the technology," Rogers said.

The Farm Bill is on the House Floor this week.  “I was also pleased my amendment was included, the SNAP Vitamin and Mineral Improvement Act,” Rogers added.  It would allow low-income Americans to purchase a daily multivitamin-mineral supplement with their SNAP benefits to make sure they are getting their daily nutrients and add choices to SNAP while not changing the costs.

Rogers is a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and the only member from the State of Alabama.

                                                                              -###-

HR 2: What the Farm Bill DOES and What the Farm Bill DOESN’T DO 

Source: https://agriculture.house.gov/farmbill/ 

• The Farm Bill Nutrition Title does not affect X number of people in Alabama.

     o We don’t know how many people the Farm Bill Nutrition title affects in Alabama because states aren’t required to keep data! Any number that is used to explain how many people are on the SNAP program now is self-reported through the Census and other programs, meaning it’s not exactly accurate, though some may lead you to believe as such. The Farm Bill will require that states report how long folks are on government assistance so we can better know how to help them out of poverty. 

• The Farm Bill does not kick 1,000,000 SNAP recipients off the program. 

     o No one is kicked off SNAP due to mandatory work requirements. Anyone who leaves the program does so because 1) they obtain employment with sufficient income to no longer be eligible, or 2) they choose not to work or participate in a work or training program for at least 20 hours per week. 

• The Farm Bill does not enforce work requirements on the disabled, the elderly, expectant mothers, caretakers of children or children. 

     o The Farm Bill work requirements are common sense. Any able-bodied adult on government assistance should be working at least 20 hours per week. SNAP is a tool to bring folks out of poverty, and these requirements coupled with training programs will do just that. 

• The Farm bill does offer solutions to bring folks out of poverty. 

     o Our current SNAP program has work requirements that aren’t in any way enforced. SNAP as it’s currently written in no way offers solutions to folks trying to get themselves back on their feet. With increased funding for workforce training and development, this Farm Bill will actually offer a way out of poverty. 

• The Farm Bill does strengthen incentives for providers to offer quality broadband service to all rural America. 

     o Rural Broadband is necessary to attract business to rural Alabama. This bill will cut red tape for companies who wish to expand their broadband services to our more rural areas. 

• The Farm Bill does strengthen Alabama’s Land Grant universities, such as Auburn and Tuskegee. 

     o With a new grant program established at 1890 land grant universities, and with critical research program funding increased, this bill will strengthen Alabama’s amazing land grant universities and the work they do.