The U.S. House on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018, passed a compromise Farm Bill that avoided threatened cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). All members of Alabama’s House delegation joined Alabama’s two U.S. senators in voting for the bill. Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden issued the following statement in response:

“The Farm Bill contains good news for struggling families across Alabama and across the country. It protects and strengthens the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, our nation’s most effective anti-hunger program. SNAP has long had bipartisan support, and we commend House and Senate negotiators for continuing that tradition by working together across party lines to protect food assistance.

“SNAP helps nearly 900,000 Alabamians make ends meet, and we’re pleased that Congress passed a Farm Bill that protects this critical program. We thank Sens. Doug Jones and Richard Shelby and Alabama’s House members for voting to keep food on hundreds of thousands of Alabama tables.

“We also thank the many Alabamians who stood together to help protect food assistance after the House initially voted for harmful SNAP cuts that would have increased hunger. Their calls and letters to our representatives in Washington were critical in ensuring that SNAP will continue to help feed a range of people in households that struggle to make ends meet, including children, parents, seniors, people with disabilities, and working people with low pay and inconsistent hours.”