Hey friend,
One of the most exciting things about EnviroVoters’ federal work is the opportunity to work with California champions to pass policy and make investments that make an impact on the climate crisis, especially in a way that centers equity, justice, and access for underserved communities.
We saw this with the historic Inflation Reduction Act two years ago, which promised $369 billion in climate action programs and investments.
And we get another opportunity to do it again with the upcoming Farm Bill, a massive investment passed every five years, typically with bipartisan support, and invests hundreds of billions of dollars into agriculture, food programs, conservation, and more.
The Farm Bill, which is up for renewal at the end of September, is responsible for funding programs you and your neighbors really care about, according to our recent polling. So it’s surprising that, from that same polling, 29% of Californians have not heard much about the Farm Bill and 48% have never even heard of it at all!
But what we also saw was that when we asked about the issue areas that the farm bill funds programs for — from combating wildfires to keeping water clean to affordable food benefits — the vast majority of participants across the state, and often across party lines, supported funding these programs and expressed concerns about cuts.
The Farm Bill is one of the great opportunities to make “farm-to-table” investments in priorities we all care about — but Congress is gearing up for a fight on how we will prioritize and budget investments over the next five years.
There’s a real possibility that House Republicans will continue to do everything they can to try to shape the Farm Bill so that funding allocated for renewable agriculture, conservation practices, clean air, clean water, and affordable food programs can instead be used by corporate polluters for farming practices that actively contribute to the climate crisis and undermine the progress we will achieve from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Here’s where you come in, friend. Your member of Congress needs to hear from you that these investments matter to you and your community!
Please make a call to your representative to share how important it is to you that the Farm Bill includes investments in wildfire prevention, clean water, renewable agriculture, and affordable food programs.
