The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) remains as-is for now as a several-day process attempting to pass a new Farm Bill (H.R. 2) finished with a “no” vote from the House of Representatives.
SNAP E&T remains critical to people served by Goodwill® organizations, but is just one part of the massive Farm Bill structure. In the days approaching the vote, lawmakers debated one hundred amendments including potential privatization of eligibility screening for SNAP recipients and other proposed changes. In the end, several Republicans and all Democrats voted against H.R. 2, with a final vote of 198-213 rejecting the bill.
During the debates over the Farm Bill, lawmakers’ passions for the issues at hand were apparent – they had a clear picture of how proposed changes would impact their constituents. This is in large part your doing. That’s right – thanks to you, more than 110 Goodwill advocates (that’s equal to more than a quarter of the members of the House) alerted your Congressional delegation to the importance of SNAP E&T to you and your community – thank you!
Important note: a revote on H.R. 2 could happen until Tuesday, May 22. Goodwill organizations do incredible work in response to their communities’ needs. Let’s continue to build on the legacy of action through advocacy, and keep the message going! Remember, we want to make sure that the Nutrition Title of any Farm Bill passes with these elements:
- Continue to fund quality SNAP E&T programs with real workforce development in mind – to help states build better and stronger E&T programs that help participants build the skills to get – and keep – jobs.
- Base any changes to the workforce elements of SNAP E&T on an evidence-based approach using results from on-going pilot programs now in operation
- Broaden SNAP E&T to cover education opportunities that lead to careers. Congress should allow participation in post-secondary education to count as training.
