Congress must pass a farm bill so that millions of working Americans - rural, urban and suburban - won't go hungry. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that about 28 million people will be using food stamps by October, the most since the program's inception more than 40 years ago.
States already are seeing the effect of hard economic times, as many of our residents turn to the food stamp program so their families can eat. Here in Maryland, one in 16 people receives food stamps - nearly 350,000 individuals. Maryland is one of seven states that have seen double-digit enrollment increases from 2007. In neighboring West Virginia, one in six residents receives food stamps. In Michigan, that figure is one in eight; in Ohio, it's one in 10. Food banks and food pantries report an increase in demand from families who can't make their dollars - and sometimes their food stamps - stretch far enough.
Unfortunately, critical changes to expand and improve access to food stamps are part of the much larger farm bill, which is stymied by disagreements over farm policy and the allocation of funding across a wide range of programs. The House passed its version of the farm bill last July. The Senate passed its bill in December, but a conference agreement has not been reached. Because of this impasse, all of the programs in the farm bill are operating under an extension of the 2002 farm bill that expires tomorrow.
If the deadline passes without a new farm bill, millions of families will miss the opportunity to benefit from increased access to food stamps and other crucial benefits. (As of late Wednesday, the House and Senate had approved a one-week extension of the current farm bill for further negotiations, but the president had yet to approve the extension.)
As state legislators in Arizona and Maryland, we know the value of the food stamp program as a safety net when people lose their jobs or struggle to keep up with the increased costs of food, gas and other essentials. The program has proved its worth as a means of quickly and efficiently getting short-term assistance to needy people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and during other natural disasters.
State legislators see this benefit in our communities every day. Federally funded food stamp benefits support our efforts to help low-income families become self-sufficient, ensure that children come to school properly nourished and ready to learn, and protect the health of our vulnerable elderly citizens.
