Washington, D.C — The Agriculture and Nutrition Bill passed 213-211, which included the controversial work rules for most adult food-stamp recipients, passed the House but is predicted to face a rocky road in the Senate. The package allows SNAP recipients to purchase multivitamins with their benefits.
In response to the passage of HR 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act (also known as the Farm Bill), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), issued the following statement:
“CRN applauds the passage of HR 2 and commends the United States House of Representatives for voting to incorporate HR 3841, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Vitamin and Mineral Improvement Act, as an amendment to the Farm Bill,” said Steve Mister, president and CEO, CRN. “The latter demonstrates strong bipartisan support for helping Americans who might not otherwise be able to meet their basic nutritional needs—ensuring everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, is able to achieve optimal health and wellness.”
The Farm Bill now includeslanguagethat specifically grants SNAP recipients the opportunity and ability to purchase a multivitamin supplement with their program benefits. CRN commends Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL) and original cosponsors Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Mia Love (R-UT), and Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) for introducing HR 3841 and applauds Rep. Rogers for offering this crucial amendment to the Farm Bill.
“CRN stands ready to continue working with Congressional leadership so that all Americans may be empowered to reach their full nutrition potential,” he said in a statement.
Democrats and anti-hunger advocates say most states do not have the capacity to manage the provision requiring 20 hours of work or job training for adults to receive benefits and maintain thousands of low-income adults could end up losing benefits.
