Washington Update: Week of February 13

Staff
3 MIN READ
Washington Update

Budget & Appropriations

  • President Trump is expected to release a “skinny” budget proposal before Feb. 28 – the day he addresses both chambers of Congress. 
  • We are deeply concerned about drastic cuts to non-defense discretionary spending. Additionally, we believe that the budget will not continue budget parity between defense and non-defense spending. We are planning meetings with key appropriators in the following weeks to discuss the importance of non-defense discretionary spending.

Immigration

  • We are still urging Republicans in both the House and Senate to co-sponsor the BRIDGE Act (HR.496/S.128).
  • The BRIDGE (Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy) Act would protect undocumented young adults who qualify for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
  • Many of these individuals, commonly referred to as “DREAMers,” were brought to the U.S. as children. The law would allow DREAMers to legally work and study in the U.S. More than 741,000 individuals are currently protected by DACA and would be impacted if it were rescinded by executive order under the Trump administration.

Affordable Care Act

  • We expect to see an Affordable Care Act (ACA) reconciliation bill in the next two weeks that will repeal key parts of Obamacare. We think that this reconciliation bill will also include instructions for how to replace the ACA.
  • As you may have seen on the news, Republicans are facing a great deal of pushback on ACA repeal. We are still urging members of Congress to have a replacement plan in place before repealing the ACA.

SNAP/Farm Bill

  • The House and Senate Agriculture committees are beginning to gear up for the 2018 Farm Bill.
  • The House Agriculture Committee will hold two hearings this week: Wednesday, Feb. 15 on the rural economy, and then Thursday, Feb. 16 on SNAP called “Pros and Cons of Restricting SNAP Purchases.”
  • The House Agriculture Committee spent much of the last two years holding SNAP hearings. Their findings were released in a December report. The report did not indicate that SNAP needed wholesale reform or gutting, but it did highlight areas for improvement.  However, one issue they did not address was restricting SNAP purchases.
  • The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold its first field hearing in Kansas on Feb. 23. Both Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) are expected to attend.

Act Now!

This is an important year for Congress to hear from constituents like you. The 2017 Offering of Letters: Doing Our Part to End Hunger is focused on urging Congress to make funding decisions that put us on track to end hunger by 2030. Watch the 60-second video introducing this year’s campaign and share it with your family, friends, or church. Find out more about the campaign at bread.org/ol.

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