SUPPORT SNAP: CALL YOUR SENATOR TODAY!

June 2012
From our Friends at the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) Senate Farm Bill Immediate Action Needed:  Urge Blumenthal and Lieberman to Co-Sponsor Gillibrand Amendment to Restore SNAP Cuts Farm Bill Update This week, the Senate is expected to begin consideration of the Farm Bill (S. 3240).  The proposal includes a $4.5 billion cut to SNAP over 10 years by reducing the ability of states like Connecticut to take part in the "Heat and Eat" program (see description below).  The cut would mean that an estimated 85,000 Connecticut households would lose $100 per month in SNAP benefits.    Two Actions You Can Take This Week: 1. Please call Senator Blumenthal and Senator Lieberman and Senator Blumenthal's offices and ask them to support restoring SNAP cuts by co-sponsoring the Gillibrand Amendment. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has announced that she will introduce an amendment (pdf) to the Farm Bill that restores, over 10 years, the $4.5 billion cut to SNAP and invests $500 million in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack program.  She has circulated a "Dear Colleague Letter" in the Senate asking for cosponsors.  Please call Senator Blumenthal and Senator Lierberman's offices and ask them to support restoring SNAP cuts by co-sponsoring the Gillibrand Amendment. Senator Lieberman D.C. phone number: (202) 224-4041 Senator Blumenthal D.C. phone number: (202) 224-2823 2. Tweet at one of SNAP message each day this week. Click here for 14 sample SNAP tweets! Example:The SNAP Effect: fighting hunger and lifting people out of poverty. http://bit.ly/nUvvWq #SNAPworks FRAC's Farm Bill Action Plan The Farm Bill could be on the Senate floor for the next three weeks, and getting co-sponsors for the Gillibrand amendment is the first step in our work to support and protect SNAP. We need to maintain a strong and consistent call from organizations across the state and country while the Farm Bill is up for debate. Background on "Heat and Eat" "Heat and Eat" coordinates SNAP and the Low-Income Household Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) by providing small cash LIHEAP benefits directly to SNAP households. This targeted LIHEAP benefit helps meet LIHEAP's requirement for outreach, simplifies the SNAP shelter deduction calculation, and, by increasing SNAP benefits to more realistic levels, alleviates some of the untenable "heat or eat" choices that households face.  Follow these links to  FRAC's Heat and Eat one-pager. Other Legislative Developments in Congress - House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Mark Up Scheduled The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee will be marking up its FY2013 funding bill at 10am EST, Wednesday, June 6. FRAC will post details at www.frac.org after the mark-up.