Chairwoman Stabenow Statement following House Vote to Cut Nutrition Assistance for Millions of Americans

Statement

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, released the following statement after today's House vote on Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor's bill that would kick nearly 4 million Americans off of food assistance. The effort, which has stalled House action on moving forward with finalizing the Farm Bill which supports 16 million American jobs, would impact the nation's most vulnerable citizens including children, senior citizens, veterans and disabled Americans. The measure passed on a largely party-line vote.

"We have never before seen this kind of partisanship injected into a Farm Bill. Not only does this House bill represent a shameful attempt to kick millions of families in need off of food assistance, it's also a monumental waste of time. The bill will never pass the Senate, and will never be signed by the President.

"The good news is now that this vote is behind us, we are close to the finish line. If House Republican leaders drop the divisive issues, appoint conferees and work with us in a bipartisan way, we can finalize a farm bill that creates jobs, reforms agriculture policy, and reduces the deficit by tens of billions of dollars. It's time to get a comprehensive farm bill done to give farmers and ranchers the certainty they need to continue growing the economy."

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