Food Safety and Nutrition

Congresswoman McCarthy believes that a healthy nation is a strong nation.  As Ranking Member on the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee, the Congresswoman has jurisdiction over certain nutritional issues and has a consistent voting record supporting nutritional access and assistance.

Keeping Our Food Safe

Congresswoman McCarthy has been a staunch support of strong food safety standards to keep American families healthy and safe. She cosponsored the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act to prohibit the sale or transport, as well as the importing or exporting, of horses or their parts to be slaughtered for human consumption as food.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

During her time in Washington, Congresswoman McCarthy has been a tireless advocate for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides financial assistance for low-income families, as well as seniors and veterans on fixed incomes. Congresswoman McCarthy opposed the original version of the 2013 Farm Bill because of the deep and unnecessary cuts to SNAP. The Congresswoman believes this is the wrong approach and that our nation should continue to make investments in this crucial nutrition program to ensure children and families are receiving healthy, nutritious meals.

Congresswoman McCarthy cosponsored a House Resolution calling on the House Agriculture Committee to reject any reduction in the availability or amount of benefits provided under SNAP. As a member of the Congressional Hunger Caucus, Congresswoman McCarthy signed onto a letter urging both the Senate and House Agriculture Committee Chairs to oppose reductions in SNAP funding during the Farm Bill Conference.

Following the Conference Committee, House and Senate leaders agreed to a final version of the bill, which would appropriate $ 756 billion for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next 10 years. Overall, this reduces SNAP funding by $ 8 billion from the previous law, which is not as severe as the House Republican plan to cut the program by $40 billion. The Farm bill also allocates $ 41 billion over the next five years for a crop insurance program to help ranchers recover from losses incurred by drought and other severe weather conditions. Furthermore, the bill increases funding for organic programs by $3 billion and it provides financial assistance to farmers, who transition from conventional farming to organic farming.

On January 29, 2014, H.R. 2642, the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 251 to 166. Later, the bill passed the Senate and was signed into law by the President on February 7, 2014.

Following the implementation of the Farm Bill, Congresswoman McCarthy signed onto a letter urging the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, to implement the Heat and Eat program this fall when states receive their Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) block grants. This program gives state agencies time to adjust their policies to comply with their LIHEAP allotments and to accommodate the cuts imposed on SNAP participants.