Press Releases

Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) issued the following statement following the conclusion of the House Agriculture Committee’s markup of the 2024 Farm Bill early this morning:

“The Farm Bill is critical for the Central Coast – and because this legislation only happens twice every decade, I know that it is not just important to get this bill done. It is important that we get this bill done right. The bill put forward for consideration today by the Republican majority falls short of that mark.

“There are a lot of good provisions in the bill we debated today, many of which that I pushed for and helped craft over the past 17 months, but the foundation of this bill is critically flawed. Improved investments in priorities like agricultural research and expanded support for Central Coast farmers are paid for with the largest cut to SNAP benefits in 30 years.

“Time after time in this Congress, House Republicans have put forward bills that have no chance of becoming law, and sadly it seems their strategy is no different with the Farm Bill. I hope that my colleagues will see the opposition of my colleagues and I today as a signal that they need to come back to the table to find a bipartisan path forward on a Farm Bill that can actually reach the President’s desk.”

Congressman Carbajal highlighted these concerns with the draft Farm Bill introduced by the majority in his opening remarks before the committee at the beginning of the debate yesterday.

Those remarks can be viewed in full here.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and outside experts have projected the draft Farm Bill considered by the Committee today would amount to a $30 billion cut in SNAP benefits over the next decade.

Nearly 10% of families on the Central Coast utilize some form of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, totaling 27,000 households across all three counties in California’s 24^th Congressional District.

Half of those households are supporting at least one child, and more than a third are supporting a parent or older relative in their household.

Since the beginning of this term, Rep. Carbajal has repeatedly outlined his priorities for the next Farm Bill, including a commitment to protecting SNAP benefits.