Letter: New farm bill harms safety net

In a recent letter, Congressman Newhouse touts the House-passed Farm Bill, HR 2, claiming that it, “bolsters the farm safety net.” That’s just an outright lie. According to Politico (6/21/18), the House farm bill would tighten eligibility criteria under SNAP — changes that would result in some 400,000 households losing SNAP benefits. Thousands of children would also risk losing their enrollment in free and reduced-price school meal programs.

In addition, as a farmer, Congressman Newhouse should be aware that, the farm bill passed by the House eliminates what is arguably the most important program to encourage farmers to protect soil and water resources: the Conservation Stewardship Program.

The program helps farmers defray costs for implementing practices like cover crops to keep soil and fertilizer in place over the winter; buffer strips that prevent severe soil erosion from storms; and hedgerows as habitat for wild bees and other beneficial insects. As a farmer, he appears to lack interested in government programs to mitigate environmental damage and supports continuing the destruction of the EPA and the environment.