WATCH: Senator Reverend Warnock Defends Vital Nutrition Programs for Georgia Children and Families, Slams Potential Cuts to Nutrition Funding During Senate Agriculture Hearing

During today’s Senate Agriculture subcommittee hearing, Senator Reverend Warnock reaffirmed his commitment to protect vital nutrition benefits for Georgians in the 2023 Farm Bill

Senator Warnock highlighted how integral federal nutrition programs are to Georgia’s food banks

In fiscal year 2022, 1,608,200 Georgia residents, or 15% of the state population, were assisted by SNAP

Senator Reverend Warnock, who was arrested in the United States Capitol’s Russell Rotunda protesting nutrition cuts to the 2018 Farm Bill, now sits on the Agriculture committee tasked with drafting the 2023 Farm Bill

Senator Reverend Warnock: “It seems to me that we can’t go backwards in this Farm Bill, and I’ll be doing everything I can to protect and expand federal nutrition benefits”

*WATCH: The Senator’s full remarks at today’s Agriculture subcommittee hearing*

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research, reaffirmed his commitment to protecting vital nutrition benefits for Georgia’s children and families in the 2023 Farm Bill. Watch the Senator’s full remarks and questioning HERE.

During the subcommittee hearing, Senator Warnock made clear to his subcommittee colleagues that no Georgian should have to worry about being able to provide food for their family, and highlighted how integral federal nutrition programs are to Georgia’s food banks. Senator Warnock also questioned the panel witnesses about the impact of work requirements on nutrition benefits; in response, experts on the panel cited research finding that tying work requirements to access to nutrition programs decreases participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In fiscal year 2022, 1,608,200 Georgia residents, or 15% of the state population, received federal SNAP nutrition benefits.

“It seems to me that we can’t go backwards in this Farm Bill,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “And I’ll be doing everything I can to protect and expand federal nutrition benefits.”

Senator Reverend Warnock, who was arrested in the United States Capitol’s Russell Rotunda while protesting efforts to cut nutrition benefits in the 2018 Farm Bill, now sits on the Agriculture committee tasked with drafting the 2023 Farm Bill. A fearless advocate for all Georgians, during a February hearing on the 2023 Farm Bill Senator Warnock stressed the moral importance of centering the needs of Georgians who rely on nutrition assistance as the committee crafts the quinquennial legislation.

Watch video of the Senator’s full remarks and questioning HERE.

See below a transcript of an exchange between Senator Reverend Warnock and panel expert witness Ty Cox:

Senator Warnock: “Currently, nondisabled adults without dependents are only eligible for SNAP for three months out of every three years, unless they work 80 hours per month. Now, I believe the vast majority of SNAP recipients who are able to work do so, but we need to bear in mind that most SNAP recipients are children, elderly, or disabled. Some of my colleagues in the House- and also in the Senate- have talked about expanding existing work requirements for SNAP. Mrs. Cox, can you tell us about these proposals and what the research says about existing work requirements already in place, including whether they increase workforce participation?”

Ty Cox, VP of Food Assistance Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “Thank you, Senator Warnock, for the questions. Studies consistently demonstrate that taking benefits away from people who are not working or are not meeting a work requirement does little to improve their long term employment outcomes, especially those with limited employment opportunities. Instead, it increases hardship, including among people who are not even expected to work, like children and people with disabilities. There was a recent peer reviewed paper showed that SNAP’s time limit reduced participation in the program by 53 percent for those who were subject to it, with no effect on employment. There was another recent paper about no evidence of improved employment earnings, but it did find that SNAP participation was cut by 7 to 32 percentage points a year after the time limit was reinstated. And so, there’s been a consistence of studies showing that it doesn’t have an impact on earnings, it just takes away food.”

SW: “It takes away food from hungry people.”

TC: “Exactly, and you can’t work if, you know, if you’re hungry.”

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