Press Release

Low Income Families Seek Relief As Farm Bill Extension Deadline Looms

WHO:           David Beckmann, president, Bread for the World, Washington, DC

WHAT:         Five- to eight-minute telephone interviews

WHEN:         Tuesday, April 8, from 10:15 a.m. to 12:00 noon, EASTERN TIME

WHY:           To inform radio listeners about the proposed changes to the nation's 2002 Farm Bill, and how they could adversely affect the working poor across the U.S.

Despite the shortcomings of the farm bill versions passed by the House and Senate, the upcoming Congressional negotiations provide an opportunity to get the farm bill back on a path to genuine reform. Congress has until April 18 to reach an agreement before the farm bill expires. However, to deliver a farm bill that contains genuine reforms, negotiators must be guided by principles that transcend politics-as-usual and are designed to help those who need it most. Specifically:

• Reform current commodity programs to establish a more equitable system of support targeting U.S. farmers of modest means and to ensure a level playing field for poor farmers in developing countries, who comprise the majority of the world's hungry people.
  
  
• Redirect the billions of dollars in savings generated by genuine reform of commodity programs to strengthen the Food Stamp Program, our nation's first line of defense against hunger, and other important nutrition programs and support farmers and rural residents of modest means, through enhanced conservation and rural development programs.

Genuine reform of the commodity payments system, which Congress has thus far failed to achieve, is the key to a farm bill that reflects the nation's values and addresses its most urgent priorities. Without it, our policy will continue to direct money to millionaires while high-priority needs remain unmet.

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Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad. By changing policies, programs and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist, we provide help and opportunity far beyond the communities where we live.