Catholic Leaders To Congress: Farm Bill Chance To Help Hungry, Family Farms, Rural Communities

WASHINGTON—The 2012 Farm Bill is“an opportunity to address our nation’s broken and outdated agriculturalpolicies” said leaders of four national Catholic organizations, including theU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in a March 6 letter to the leadersof the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

“We ask that you support a Farm Billthat provides for poor and hungry people both at home and abroad, offerseffective support for those who grow our food, ensures fairness to familyfarmers and ranchers, and promotes stewardship of the land,” wrote BishopStephen Blaire of Stockton, California; Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines,Iowa; Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), CarolynWoo, president of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and James F. Ennis, executivedirector of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference.

“We also urge that this Farm Billtarget limited resources, such as subsidies and direct payments, to thosefarmers and ranchers who truly need assistance to be competitive andsuccessful,” they wrote.

Bishops Blaire and Pates chair theUSCCB Committee of Domestic Justice and Human Development and the Committee onInternational Justice and Peace, respectively.

The full letter is available online:www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/agriculture/upload/Joint-Letter-to-Senate-on-Farm-Bill-2012-03-06.pdf

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Keywords: 2012 Farm Bill, U.S. Senate, Senator DebbieStabenow, Senator Pat Roberts, Bishop Stephen Blaire, Bishop Richard Pates,Father Larry Snyder, Catholic Charities USA, CCUSA, Carolyn Woo, CatholicRelief Services, CRS, James F. Ennis, National Catholic Rural Life Conference

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