The Serrano Report, Vol. X, #16

On Capitol Hill

Serrano Criticizes Republican Farm Bill

On Thursday, the House of Representatives rejected H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management  (FARRM) Act, known as the Farm Bill, by a vote of 195-234. Congressman Serrano voted against the bill, because of the draconian cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which totaled $20.5 billion over the next decade. These cuts would have eliminated food assistance to nearly 2 million low-income people, mostly senior citizens and working families with children.

Before the House vote, Serrano led 12 of his Latino colleagues in sending a letter to Speaker John Boehner and Leader Nancy Pelosi expressing their deep opposition to the devastating SNAP cuts contained in the Republican Farm Bill. “These food assistance cuts are beyond the pale,” said Serrano. “At a time when families are depending on this program to stave off hunger, eviscerating this program is deeply disturbing. Children and families in this nation of plenty should not go hungry. But if this bill passes as it is currently written, that is just what will take place, with much of the damage concentrated in minority communities. I was proud to lead my colleagues in saying that that is wrong.”

The proposed Farm Bill, which sets policy for the nation’s agriculture and nutrition programs for a period of five years, would have added futher SNAP cuts on top of the across-the-board reduction in benefits that every SNAP recipient will experience starting November 1, 2013.  On that date, the increase in SNAP benefits established by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) will end, resulting in a loss of approximately $25 in monthly SNAP benefits for a family of four.

Serrano/CHC Meet with Speaker about Immigration

This week, Congressman Serrano joined other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss the future of comprehensive immigration reform with Speaker of the House John Boehner. With the Senate currently working through its version of immigration reform, the members of the CHC reiterated to the speaker that they wanted to work with him to pass an immigration bill as expeditiously as possible. They emphasized that the House approach needed to match the Senate in providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

"It is encouraging that the Senate is continuing to move forward on its bill," said Serrano. "We told the Speaker that we were looking forward to working with him to find a comprehensive solution to immigration reform that can pass the House and the Senate to become law. It is critical for our country, our communities, and our economy that we bring people out of the shadows and go back to having a functional immigration system. Millions of people have already been waiting too long for reform and it is time to finally find a solution."

The Senate is expected to finish debate on its immigration bill in the coming weeks at which point the House could take up the Senate bill or continue exploring its own approach to immigration.

Grant

Child Welfare Grant

Deadline: Aug 5, 2013

The Administration for Children and Families recently announced the availability of funding for projects that will improve the social and emotional well-being of children in child welfare systems with mental and behavioral health needs resulting from trauma and/or exposure to violence. Successful programs should take an evidence-based approach to improving outcomes for these children. Public and private agencies and organizations are encouraged to apply.

For more information, please visit the ACF website.

For more information about other federal grants please visit grants.gov.