The 2017 Christian Unity Gathering of the National Council of Churches, with the theme "Resilience, Resistance, and Persistence,” will be held November 8-10 in Silver Spring, Maryland. Information and registration details are available here:

https://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/cug/

Hi, friends and defenders of SNAP. 
 
I hope that many of you took a few minutes this weekend to enjoy the rain and breathe some fresh air!  These are challenging times as so many of you continue to battle against the potential of terrifying cuts on both the state and federal levels. 
 
As you know, Congress is back from its summer recess, and the Montana Food Bank Network wanted to provide you with an update on the federal budget as it relates to SNAP.  It looks as if the House will be delaying a vote on its budget resolution until early October to give leaders time to settle on a framework for a tax plan.  If you need a refresher on the billions of dollars in proposed cuts to SNAP in the House resolution, please check out this blog from CBPP: https://www.cbpp.org/blog/house-budget-targets-snap-for-cuts.  The Senate has also begun work on its budget resolution, with much of their attention currently also focused on tax reform. 
 
For membership and advocacy organizations, we expect early October to be an important time to increase constituent contacts into the offices of our delegation, and we plan to send you an action alert template then. In the meantime, please consider reaching out individually, as providers and organizational and community leaders, to Representative Gianforte and Senators Daines and Tester to ask them to oppose cuts to SNAP (and any of the other programs you work to protect) in each of their chamber’s budget resolutions.
 
Representative Gianforte (D.C.): (202) 225-3211; online message form
Senator Daines (D.C.): (202) 224–2651;  online message form
Senator Tester (D.C.): (202) 224-2644; online message form
 
We will do our best to keep you updated as the budget negotiations continue to move forward, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
 
If, like me, the federal budget process continues to make your head swirl, no matter how many years that you follow it, CBPP has a great set of policy basics on the topic that you might find useful:
https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-introduction-to-the-federal-budget-process.
 
Finally, if you haven’t already, please take a few minutes to read the great opinion piece by our partners at the Montana Association of Christians asking congress to oppose cuts to SNAP: 
http://mtstandard.com/opinion/editorial/u-s-house-budget-plan-is-indefensible/article_2deb49cc-d7dc-58ea-b910-02e652d95ff7.html.
 
Thanks for all that you do. It’s a privilege to get to share in a part of that work.
Tara
 
Tara Veazey
Consultant to the Montana Food Bank Network
Tara.veazey@gmail.com

House Budget includes drastic cuts to SNAP, other safety net programs
 
The U.S. House is expected to vote this month on the federal budget resolution passed by the House Budget Committee in July.   

The resolution passed by the House Budget Committee includes cuts of at least $203 billion to mandatory programs including food assistance, income assistance, job training programs, help for students struggling to afford college, and economic development. It also cuts $1.6 billion from the successful Community Eligibility Provision, which allows high-need schools to serve school breakfast and lunch to all children at no cost.

The budget includes more than $10 billion in cuts directed at agriculture, the bulk of which will come from cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), with an additional $150 billion in suggested cuts from dramatic downsizing and restructuring of the program. Food pantries and other local programs do not have the capacity to respond the increased need for food assistance that these cuts would create, worsening the impacts of hunger in our state.

These harsh cuts to SNAP and other poverty-reduction programs will pull the rug out beneath thousands of Montanans, including children, the elderly, low-wage workers, and people with disabilities. Please help us urge Representative Gianforte to oppose these devastating cuts and vote no on the House budget resolution. 

Thanks as always for your work on this important issue! Contact Lorianne at lburhop@mfbn.org or (406) 215-1773 for more information.

Call to Action:
Call or email Rep. Gianforte to share how important SNAP is to Montana families and communities, and urge him to oppose the House budget resolution.

• Contact Rep. Gianforte by email or (202) 225-3211

Sample message:

Dear Rep. Gianforte, I am (name) from (city/town, MT). As your constituent, I'm writing to ask you to oppose the House budget resolution. The resolution passed by the House Budget Committee will require cuts of at least $203 billion to mandatory programs that help some of the most vulnerable in our society. This includes drastic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, making it harder for families in my community to make ends meet and keep food on the table.

While I recognize the need for fiscal responsibility, the vision for America outlined in the House budget will worsen hunger and poverty for millions of people, including tens of thousands here in Montana. The long term effects of these cuts will be felt for decades in increased health care costs, lowered educational success, and lost economic productivity. Please reject this vision for America and vote no on the House budget resolution.

(Your full name and address)
 
 
Montana Food Bank Network
5625 Expressway
Missoula, MT
www.mfbn.org
(406) 721-3825

Applications open for the 2017-2018 Governor and First Lady Youth Leadership Council in September 2017! Up to 20 7th-12th graders will be selected to serve on the Council and help fight childhood hunger in Montana.

Applications are due October 13, 2017, with decisions made later that month. More details and application materials can be found online at www.fightchildhoodhunger.com