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TEFAP ALERT: SUPPORT FARM BILL AND VETO OVERRIDE! Please contact your Representative and Senators immediately and urge her or him to vote for the Farm Bill. As President Bush has stated he will veto the bill, also ask your Representative and Senators to override the anticipated Presidential veto of the Farm Bill. Congress has completed its work on the 2008 Farm Bill. House and Senate floor votes are being scheduled this week, perhaps as early as May 14, 2008. The legislation, H.R. 2419, includes considerable improvements to The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), including:
For further help or information, contact Zy or Barbara at 512-715-0232 or bvauthier@tefapalliance.org. ___________ FARM BILL UPDATE Conference Agreement Reached on Nutrition Title Senate and House negotiators have approved new funding of $10.365 billion for programs in the Nutrition Title of the Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) for the next decade. The bulk of the spending is dedicated to improvements in the Food Stamp Program, including an increase in the minimum benefit, an uncapping of the dependent care deduction, an increase in the asset limits, and a boost in the standard deduction. The bill provides an additional $1.256 billion for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) over the ten-year period. Funding for commodity purchases will be increased to $250 million annually and indexed for inflation. It Ain’t Over Yet Although tentative agreement on the nutrition title has been reached, other aspects of the wide-ranging Farm Bill have not been settled and budget projections may require some further funding adjustments. Current law has been extended until May 16 to allow for the completion of negotiations. Advocacy and Thanks Needed Thanks to those of you who contacted Members of Congress to solicit their support for TEFAP improvements. Please thank them for their support of food programs and urge them to finish passing a Farm Bill with the strongest possible nutrition title – including improvements in food stamps and more funding for TEFAP. ___________ FARM BILL ALERT: Future of TEFAP Being Decided; ACT NOW! Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and other key members of Congress are making final decisions this week on the future of nutrition and agriculture programs in the Farm Bill, including The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Farm Bill conferees are looking at a Senate provision that provides $250 million annually in mandatory funds for TEFAP food purchases through fiscal year 2012 versus a House provision that provides the $250 million annually and adjusts it for inflation, an important consideration with today’s skyrocketing food costs. A total of 60 Representatives and Senators have been appointed to a Farm Bill conference committee to work out House-Senate differences in program revisions and funding sources, though no agreements have been made to date. Consequently, There is still time to influence the outcome of the Farm Bill! CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS TODAY AND ASK THEM TO CONTACT FARM BILL CONFEREES TO SUPPORT $250 ANNUALLY FOR TEFAP FOOD PURCHASES, INDEXED FOR INFLATION. A listing of 49 House conferees may be viewed at: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/agriculture_dem/pr_040908_conferees.html. The 11 Senate conferees are: Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee; chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus (D-MT); chair of the Senate Budget Committee, Kent Conrad (D-ND); chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy (D-VT); Senate Agriculture Committee Member Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Senate Agriculture Committee Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI); Ranking Agriculture Committee Member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA); former Senate Agriculture Committee chair Richard Lugar (R-IN); Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, Charles Grassley (R-IA); Ranking Member Senate Appropriations Committee, Thad Cochran (R-MS); and Senate Agriculture Committee Member Pat Roberts (R-KS). Please let us know if we can assist you in any way to make congressional contacts – Zy Weinberg at: zyweinberg@tefapalliance.org and/or Barbara Vauthier at: bvauthier@tefapalliance.org. ___________ TEFAP Alert: Farm Bill Advocacy Needed Immediately House and Senate conferees are meeting now to reconcile differences in the 2007 Farm Bill. TEFAP supporters should contact their members of Congress to support the House Farm Bill in regard to TEFAP provisions. Although both House and Senate Farm Bills would increase mandatory food purchases from the current $140 million a year to $250 million annually, the House bill: 1) includes an annual inflation adjustment that will raise the food purchase level to $273 million by fiscal year 2012; and 2) makes these provisions permanent law. The Senate bill, on the other hand, has no indexing for inflation and would have to be renewed after five years. Members of Congress are currently at home in their states and districts during the end-of the-year recess. The House will reconvene on January 15, 2008. The Senate will be back on January 22, 2008. Farm Bill conferees are aiming to complete their negotiations by the end of this month. Let your Members know how important TEFAP is for emergency food relief in your state or locality and urge them to support the House Farm Bill on TEFAP. If you have any questions or need assistance in contacting your Members, contact Zy Weinberg at :zyweinberg@tefapalliance.org and/or Barbara Vauthier at :bvauthier@tefapalliance.org Thank you! TAKE ACTION on TEFAP! The Senate Agriculture Committee will likely develop its version of the Farm Bill in mid-October 2007, with floor action to follow by the end of the month. Though the Senate bill may be somewhat different from the House version, it is critically important that the Senate bill, at a minimum, include TEFAP funding levels approved by the House. Although ideally, the TEFAP Alliance would like to see even larger funding increases (authorizations of $500 million annually for food purchases and $175 million a year for storage and distribution costs), the House bill represents a substantial improvement and needs to be supported until the final 2007 Farm Bill is passed. The House of Representatives, on July 27, 2007, passed its Farm Bill (the Farm, Nutrition, and Energy Act of 2007, or H.R. 2419), that contains a significant boost for TEFAP. Mandatory funds for TEFAP food purchases would be increased from the current $140 million level to $250 million a year, beginning in fiscal year 2008. Allotments for food purchases would then be indexed annually for inflation, rising to $273 million by fiscal year 2012. The authorized level for storage and distribution funds would be increased from the current $60 million to $100 million a year, though that allocation would continue to be subject to the annual appropriations process. Here’s what you can do NOW to make a difference:
Contact the TEFAP Alliance at bvauthier@tefapalliance.org if you have any questions. ___________ Foodlinks America is published 24 times a year by California Emergency Foodlink and distributed by Weinberg & Vauthier Consulting, 6412 CR 116, Burnet, Texas 78611; Zy Weinberg and Barbara Vauthier, Editors; email: bvauthier@tefapalliance.org. __________ 
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