Both the House and Senate are planning to mark up new versions of the Farm Bill – the Senate may begin this week – so let’s get going (again)!

Neither the Senate nor House versions of the Farm Bill passed in the full Congress last year; with November’s elections, it’s a new Congress so they must begin again. The Farm Bill includes SNAP (food stamps, or Basic Food), TEFAP and CSFP (food for food banks) and Farmers Market Nutrition Program for Seniors.

 It’s time for a new Congress to start with a fresh Farm Bill that makes no cuts in programs that feed hungry families, especially SNAP.

For information about sustainable agriculture issues in the Farm Bill, please check out our partners’ priorities at Washington State Farmers Market Assoc. and Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network.

What to know about the Senate:

The Senate Agriculture Committee will release their draft bill any day now.

Last Congress’s Senate Farm Bill cut $4.3 billion from SNAP by cutting the ‘Heat and Eat’ option. In Washington, that equals big cuts in food stamp benefits to more than a quarter million families, only adding to Washington’s hunger problem. We estimate 234,000 households will get $90 less (average) on their EBT cards for groceries each month if Congress eliminates this option.

This spring Committee chair Sen. Stabenow has made public comments that indicate she may be willing to give up food stamp benefits for certain low-income households.  We think that’s the wrong answer, and both our Senators agree: Sen. Cantwell – along with one-third of all Senators – signed Sen. Gillibrand’s (NY) letter in support of SNAP funding; Sen. Murray, as Senate Majority leadership, has also been strongly supportive of no cuts to food stamps in the Farm Bill or the budget.

What to know about the House:

The House Agriculture Committee will release a Farm Bill proposal after the Senate – maybe in the next 2 weeks. Last Congress created a House Farm Bill so controversial it never came to a vote because it cut $16.5 billion from SNAP.

In addition to cutting ‘Heat and Eat’, last year the House also eliminated ‘Categorical Eligibility’ – mostly working poor families with children and seniors on fixed incomes would be cut off food stamps altogether. We estimate 88,000 households in Washington would no longer have any SNAP benefits.

Yet some House members have been saying they would like to cut more this year: up to $20 billion from SNAP. Because this is much higher than last year, details on those cuts are not clear until the House releases its proposal soon.

What is clear – no Farm Bill would be better than one that cuts SNAP.

What to do now: Take Action

In the 14^th hungriest state in the country, with demand at food banks up 35% and further state and local cuts to the safety net expected, Washington families deserve for a new Congress to start with a fresh Farm Bill that makes no cuts in SNAP.

Spend 3 minutes thinking about 2 clients (or students or patients or friends) that you know SNAP benefits helped in some way. What improved for them? How did it make a difference? What would happen if they soon had $90 less – or all their SNAP was gone?

Ask your Congress member (via phone, fax, email) to protect and strengthen SNAP. Make this contact to your lawmakers personal – explain how important SNAP has been to those 2 clients. Ask them to reject SNAP cuts, whether those are included in a 2013 Farm Bill or other legislative vehicles in the new Congress.

Thank Sen. Cantwell, Reps. McDermott, Smith and now Heck for signing letter/ co-sponsoring support of SNAP funding. Urge other House Members to co-sponsor H. Res. 90.

Olympia: Closing Tax Loopholes and Funding Services

After 105 days of session, legislators are facing off in overtime over one high-stakes question: What’s a higher priority: preserving tax loopholes that don’t serve the public interest, or ample funding for education and saving critical services that help ensure families don’t go hungry?

Legislators are in the middle of two weeks of critical budget negotiations that will determine the direction of our budget and our state. There is only one way to move them to support our agenda: pressure from their constituents. Now is the time to flood legislator’s inboxes with support for a budget that puts our kids and our communities first.

Take Action:

Print the attached plate with our priorities, add a personal message, and send to your legislator before special session begins on May 13.

When you contact your legislators, ask them: PLEASE close costly tax loopholes!

The House and Senate have passed two very different budgets. The Senate budget doesn’t close a single tax loophole. It makes inadequate investments in education and does so at the expense of many critical safety services. The House budget, by comparison, takes the approach recommended by Gov. Inslee to make a substantial investment in education and most critical services by closing tax loopholes and extending parts of the 2010 revenue package.

The House budget isn’t perfect – they need to increase funding for State Food Assistance at least as much as the Senate budget does. But the House takes the right approach of tax reform and reflects our value of putting the people of Washington before costly tax loopholes.

Let your legislators know you support a budget that closes tax loopholes to fund education and critical services for hungry families.

Thank you. These next few days and weeks are critical, and every action you take is getting us closer to more fair, healthy futures for hungry families. Call me or email if you have any questions.

Claire Lane

(206) 830-7642

Farm Bill action & State budget action

May 9, 2013
Both the House and Senate are planning to mark up new versions of the Farm Bill – the Senate may begin this week – so let’s get going (again)! Neither the Senate nor House versions of the Farm Bill…

Update on Olympia & Congress Action Alert

April 26, 2013
Regular session ending – but our advocacy doesn’t:This Sunday marks the end of the Legislature’s regular session, but they are a long way off from ending their work. This is a “long” session…

House budget action NOW!

April 10, 2013
House budget released – please pick up your phone today! When the Senate released their budget proposal last week, we celebrated that there was progress…

Senate budget released

April 3, 2013
Revenue: We all need to talk to our Senators about revenue. We stand in strong support for the need to find revenue to help Washington pay for existing need for services …

Gov. Takes Important First Step to Turn the Tide of Cutting Services

March 28th, 2013
Gov. Inslee released his plan today to help fund our kids and communities by closing tax loopholes and raising revenue. To begin to address our $2.3 billion deficit, he would end tax exemptions…

State Economic Forecast: Gloomy with Continued Unmet Needs

March 22nd, 2013
On Wednesday, the state’s latest economic forecast was released – once again, the news is bad but some feared it would be worse. Here are several factors that are driving our deficit…

New leaders, New Budget Deficit Estimates, and More

March 15th, 2013
New leaders named to Dept. of Agriculture & Dept. of Health: Gov. Inslee named Okanogan rancher, chair of Washington’s Salmon Recovery Board, and former Okanogan Co….

Asking for Champions at Session Halfway Point

March 8th, 2013
This week marked the halfway point for the 2013 legislative session. Each of our anti-hunger priorities has a legislator sign on letter and we’re looking for more champions for all of them…

Hunger Action Day Agenda

February 21st, 2013
Download the Hunger Action Day agenda now and be prepared for the Coalition’s day of advocacy.

Hunger Action Day is in 2 Weeks!

February 12th, 2013
Friday, Feb. 22 is our opportunity to make hunger a visible, undeniable priority for legislators – help us make a big orange splash in Olympia….

State Food Assistance

February 4th, 2013
No child should go to school hungry. No elder should have to cut back on food to pay rent. But since the 50% cut to State Food Assistance (SFA) went into effect last summer….

2nd week of session updates!

First week of session: New Legislature and new Governor begin

105 Days and Counting

Get Ready for Session

Call House Members Today

Update and Action Alert

Lame Duck Call-In Day

Vote for AHNC priorities in Olympia

Update and Action Alert

Membership Meeting Today

Election Results

Protect SNAP From Budget Cuts

Meeting Reminder

This Sunday marks the end of the Legislature’s regular session, but they are a long way off from ending their work. This is a “long” session (105 days) when lawmakers write the budget for the next 2 years, but the big differences between the Senate’s budget proposal and the House proposal mean the Governor will have to call a special session to finish the work. Sometimes that happens right away (usually when negotiations are close to completion). More likely this year is most legislators will go home this weekend, and the finance and budget committee members will keep working. A special session would begin when the House and Senate are closer to agreement.

All this means our job isn’t done: we need to keep in touch with those budget writers to make sure they’re still fighting for our priorities to feed hungry people. They need robust tax reform and new revenue to comply with the Supreme Court’sMcCleary ruling for more funding for education AND for the programs that all Washingtonians need to survive and thrive.

In the final negotiations, AHNC is pushing for: funding at least the Senate’s proposal of 75% benefit levels for State Food Assistance; funding for WSDA’s Farm to School/Small Farms Programs; added funding for Emergency Food Assistance Program; and, new revenue and tax reforms to make our budget process work better – now and in the future.

Revenue Update:

This week the House Finance Committee passed a revenue bill (substitute HB 2038) that was a reduction from the original proposal in the House budget – it raises about $900 million in new revenue, down from almost $1.3 billion. The House Committee also passed Senate Bill 5843, which creates a process for review and/or expiration dates for tax exemptions or preferences. In plain terms: just as the Legislature regularly reviews its spending (via annual budgeting), it will also regularly review each of its tax exemptions (at least every 10 years), so our tax code keeps up with current times.

Yesterday, advocates delivered a strong message to legislators: “Make our communities whole again” - because our current budget and tax system is like an apple with a hole through it. Thanks to the broad coalition who is making our message clear and unmistakable to lawmakers!

Media Update:

We will keep you posted as there are opportunities to take action on the budget in the coming weeks. In the past week, kudos to our advocates – a PHENOMENAL job with the media to broadcast our priorities:

From the editorial board of The Olympian (April 21):

It’s Not Too Late for Lawmakers to Address Hunger

When the Senate released their budget proposal last week, we celebrated that there was progress toward restoring equal State Food Assistance benefits. We also were relieved that the Senate took a small – though insufficient – step to ensuring that Farm to School and Small Farms/Direct Marketing Programs wouldn’t shut down altogether.

Today, we got bad news: the House released their budget proposal this morning and it makes NO progress toward restoring equal State Food Assistance benefits. It also takes the same small but insufficient step forward for our local farms and schoolkids. There is no increase in funding for local food banks.

Overall, the House budget proposal makes far fewer cuts than the Senate proposal in part because the House proposal includes new revenue by closing outdated tax loopholes. This is incredibly important progress toward a more fair and equitable budget. We applaud House members for finally tackling tax reform in smart ways.

Yet, on the critical issue of feeding hungry people, it falls short. It fails to correct the terrible injustice that was done to children and families when State Food Assistance was cut in half. It funds a tiny portion of what’s needed to grow and serve healthy food to students and families. It doesn’t help local food banks.

But this is just the proposal. We are going to work fast to try and get the funds added through an amendment. If we work together, we have a better chance of being successful.

Here’s what is happening now:

•    A mom from Lakewood who counts on State Food Assistance is going to testify in the hearing on the House budget at 3:30 today.
• A farmer will also testify about the critical support farm businesses get from WSDA’s programs that feed students and families healthy, local food.
• AHNC members’ lobbyists in Olympia will work fast to try and find a sponsor of an amendment to add funds to restore equal benefits for SFA.

TAKE ACTION:

1. Call or email your two Representatives now to say how disappointed you are that there is no progress toward equal benefits for State Food Assistance in the House budget proposal. Say you think kids and farmers deserve quality programs that can make a difference in what we eat. Can’t remember their contact info? Just check here: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rosters/Members.aspx
2. If you work for/represent a statewide organization, or if you live in, or work for an organization in the 43rd district, call Speaker Frank Chopp with the same message: (306) 786-7920
3. If you work for/represent a statewide organization or your live or work in the 48th district, call House Appropriations Chair Ross Hunter with the same message:  (360) 786-7936

Here’s a sample message:

“Thank you for increasing revenue in the House budget proposal, and closing outdated tax loopholes. But I am very concerned that there is no progress toward restoring equal State Food Assistance benefits for Washington’s kids and families. Please amend the budget proposal to include at least the funding for SFA provided in the Senate budget. Please fund Farm to School & Small Farms Programs at $500,000.”

Thank you. Together we are making progress. These next few days and weeks are critical, and every action you take is getting us closer to a success that will make a world of difference for children and families who are coping to eat three healthy meals a day. Call me or email if you have any questions.

Claire Lane

(206) 830-7642

We all need to talk to our Senators about revenue. We stand in strong support for the need to find revenue to help Washington pay for existing need for services and meet its duty of improving basic education under the McCleary decision. We can’t look at education or services in isolation-hungry kids in crisis can’t learn.

The Legislature, including the Senate, should keep all revenue options on the table, but we believe in the following principles:

•  Find new sources of revenue because our existing system is primarily based on the retail sales tax at local establishments. It’s regressive and has diminishing returns each year – it’s not a solution for the Washington of today or tomorrow.
• Close wasteful and unnecessary tax loopholes and exemptions. Gov. Inslee’s proposal starts us on the right path to help ensure improvements to basic education while investing in critical supports to help low-income families. The Senate maintains tax exemptions for oil companies, pharmaceutical makers and luxury vehicle owners – the Governor didn’t.
• Reform our tax code and improve tax fairness for low and moderate income Washingtonians who are currently paying a disproportionately high amount of their incomes in taxes, yet are losing out on more and more of the critical state supports that they need to meet basic needs. Gov. Inslee’s budget can pay for child care for working families, smaller class sizes in schools, and lifeline services for low-income kids and homeless people. The Senate budget can’t pay for these things because it doesn’t fix our tax code.

State Food Assistance:

The Senate budgets $9.4 million for State Food Assistance – this increases the food stamp benefit level from its current 50% of federal (SNAP) benefits to 75% of federal benefit levels. We are glad to see that the strong showing by legislators signing onto our letter of support for SFA encouraged the Senate to reinvest in this critical program.

Yet a majority of Senators wanted full restoration, and this budget continues to fall short for the thousands of kids, parents and elders that need a full plate every day – not ¾ of a plate.

 
Emergency Food Assistance Program:

The Senate budget funds EFAP at $5.3 million per year – no increase in funding. We used to say that cuts to SFA mean that more people will be at the food bank’s door, but those families are already customers.

Food stamps are – and should remain – our first line of defense against hunger. But as long as benefits still fall short for an adequate food budget, families have to rely on both food stamps and food banks. To really fight hunger, we need to strengthen both systems of support.

Farm to School / Small Farms Programs:

The Senate budget finally reflects that these programs are important to Washington and invests state general funds back into the programs – at $250,000 for the biennium.

Yet the proposed budget for both these programs at $250,000 over the next 2 years is not sufficient. It’s estimated that this would reduce the previous staffing of 4.5 staff for both programs to only 1 staff member for both.

Combined, WSDA’s two programs have had a major impact on ensuring a healthy, vibrant local agriculture economy and healthy schoolkids by pairing local growers with local buyers, including schools. We applaud the effort by the Senate to put some state funds back into these critical programs – but they can fulfill both their mission and their promise better if funded at the level advocates and more than 60 legislators have asked for: $500,000 for the biennium.

School Meal Programs and Farmers Market Nutrition Program for WIC & Seniors

No cuts

Other safety net programs:

The investments in our food system will be undermined by cuts to critical support services. Slashing programs for low-income families like TANF/WorkFirst and Disability Lifeline and Working Connections mean less income to buy food. Hunger will continue to rise and the need for food assistance programs will deepen. The Senate needs to make a stronger stand to reform taxes and generate revenue to pay for the most basic needs.

Without comprehensive change to our tax system, we’re pitting one part of the safety net against other critical public services.

Gov. Inslee released his plan today to help fund our kids and communities by closing tax loopholes and raising revenue. To begin to address our $2.3 billion deficit, he would end tax exemptions for special interests that are fighting not to have to pay their fair share. He also would extend the revenue package that was passed in 2010.  In total, Gov. Inslee’s plan would raise $1.2 billion in revenue to fund basic improvements in education.

This is a good start – but with our voices, we can do better.The Governor’s proposal today is not a budget – it reflects his priorities and offers some solutions to our upside down tax system. Yet his solutions address only our obligations to education – not to all the other needs our state faces. We can’t look at education or services in isolation: hungry kids can’t learn; kids whose families face crisis can’t learn.

AHNC members stand in strong support of this plan that creates revenue to meet our duty to improve basic education under the McCleary decision, but we have many more steps ahead of us as the House and Senate create a budget.

Yet Washington can’t get where we need to be if we can’t take the first step. This week, please tell your lawmakers to follow Gov. Inslee’s lead to smarter budgets and better futures for Washington families.

On Wednesday, the state’s latest economic forecast was released – once again, the news is bad but some feared it would be worse. Here are several factors that are driving our deficit:

When session began, WA had a $900 million deficit for the 2013-15 biennium. With the loss of federal funds to our state (~$6 million less per month) because of sequestration; an increased collection of revenue in the current biennium ($59 million), expectations for lower revenue collections in the next biennium (down $19 million). The impact of the state’s Bracken lawsuit would increase the deficit further, so legislation to close that loophole is important; without it, our 2013-15deficit is $1.3 billion.

Finally, remember this forecast does not include provisions to meet the McCleary ruling by the Supreme Court which requires greater state spending on K-12 education. With estimates of another $1 billion needed for education, Washington State functionally will be $2.3 billion in the red.

Note: These figures assume sequestration will end by June 30; if not, Washington will continue to lose $6 million monthly, with the biggest impacts felt in the communities near military bases (Tacoma, Bremerton, Everett, Oak Harbor).

To read more:

http://budgetandpolicy.org/schmudget/state-tax-revenue-remains-far-short-of-need-latest-forecast-shows

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020605668_revenueforecastxml.html

http://www.erfc.wa.gov/forecast/documents/rev20130320color.pdf

Opportunities to weigh in

The Seattle Times is asking readers, “How should the state close a $1.3 billion shortfall and fund education?”

We vote for the first option, “Raise revenue through closing loopholes and/or extending soon-to-be-expired taxes.” We do NOT support the second option, “No need to raise or extend taxes – cut spending.” Washington has cut spending for several years in a row and families are going hungry as a result; it’s time for new solutions that help people put food on the table and grow our economy.

Want to vote in the poll? Vote here.

State legislators want to hear from you – go to your town hall meetings!

Last week, many lawmakers across the state held town hall meetings, and there are more scheduled for this weekend and the coming weeks. Go here to get details on your district and where to go when.

FEDERAL UPDATE (thanks to Northwest Harvest):

This week both the House and Senate released budget proposals; they reflect radically different views about deficits, spending, program structure, and the role of federal programs themselves.

Like last year’s House budget led by Rep. Paul Ryan, there are no plans raise revenue to balance the budget. Instead, the House would transform Medicare into a voucher program, repeal Obamacare, turn SNAP (food stamps) into a block grant to states, and decimate other programs to balance the budget in ten years. In a vote this  week, the budget passed mostly along party lines – yet 10 Republicans voted against it.

The Senate budget does include new revenues from a variety of sources, and does not aim to eliminate the federal deficit. Rather, it mixes spending cuts with revenues and seems geared to ensure that families have access to services and systems that help people gain and keep jobs, raise healthy families, and avoid the across-the-board budget cutting approach of sequestration. Most important for anti-hunger advocates, the Senate budget protects the structure and funding for SNAP.

Take Action:

Contact your Representative and ask them to sign House Resolution 90, which opposes cuts to SNAP.

Congress members want to hear from you – 7th CD Town Hall:

Rep. Adam Smith (7th Congressional District) has a newly-drawn district; he wants to hear from his constituents about their priorities and talk about what’s happening in Congress.  Ask Rep. Smith to sign House Resolution 90!

Details:

Thursday, March 28 (7 – 8:30 pm)
Hazelwood Elementary School Commons
7100 116th Ave SE Newcastle, WA 98056
Please RSVP to 425-793-5180 or 1-(888) SMITH 09
E-Mail: RSVPSmith@mail.house.gov [mailto:RSVPSMITH@mail.house.gov]

Gov. Inslee named Okanogan rancher, chair of Washington’s Salmon Recovery Board, and former Okanogan Co. Commissioner, Bud Hover, as the new director for WA State Dept. of Agriculture (WSDA) this week. The Governor also announced John Wiesman will head WA’s Dept. of Health; he is currently Public Health Director for Clark County Public Health and on the board of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

Impact of federal sequestration and forecasts for the state budget:

Washington’s State Caseload Forecasting Council estimates a $300 million bigger deficit in the 2013-15 budget than expected. When combined with the federal sequestration’s impact of an estimated $200 million net decrease in state revenues, the overall state deficit is expected to be much bigger than previously imagined. These figures will be finalized next Wednesday, March 20 with the state’s Economic Revenue Forecast (which estimates revenue and expenses for the biennium). Stay tuned for the bad news…

Opportunity today to speak up for a better tax system:

At 8am on Friday, March 15, the House Finance Commission will hold a hearing on House Bill 1971 (sponsor: Rep. Carlyle). This legislation changes the way telecommunications services are taxed, using a uniform sales tax to replace the system currently in place for telephone land lines, wireless cellular communications, and cable/internet, which have a patchwork of different taxes and fees on each sector.

This change generates an estimated $63 million in net new state revenue for the 2013-15 biennium, plus $26.4 million for local governments. Over time, it would add $73 million in net new state revenue in 2015-17, plus $31.9 million for local governments – this bill helps our state and our local communities pay for essential services in a sustainable, equitable way.

The Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition is one of hundreds of organizations that support this kind of streamlining and reforms in our tax system that can help balance our budget more fairly. With this week’s news about our growing deficit – please let your lawmakers know you support House Bill 1971 today!

State Budget Proposals Coming:

The House Republicans released their “fund education first” budget  on Thursday. This budget doesn’t build the future for Washington that people want, and it doesn’t provide sustainable solutions to our budget for the future. We expect the Senate to release their budget proposal after the Economic Forecast is released on March 20. After that, the House proposal will be released.

Funding for WSDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program – Sign on your organization’s support:

Does your organization support an increase in funding for WSDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program? Make your support clear and visible – sign on to Washington Food Coalition’s community letter no later than Monday, March 18.

You and your organization should also contact your senator and ask to sign Sen. Hatfield’s letter supporting increased funding for EFAP.

Almost half of all senators support restoring State Food Assistance benefits:

We are thrilled with our senate: 25 senators have signed on to a letter to support restoring benefits for families with State Food Assistance. Can we get to half? Ask your senator to sign on! If your senator is listed, PLEASE send a note or call to thank them: Billig, Chase, Cleveland, Conway, Dammeier, Darneille, Eide, Fain, Fraser, Frockt, Harper, Hasegawa, Hatfield, Hewitt, Hobbs, Keiser, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Litzow, McAuliffe, Murray, Ranker, Rolfes, Schlicher, and Shin.

Rep. Eric Pettigrew is circulating a similar letter of support for SFA among his colleagues in the House – you are encouraged to encourage your Representatives to sign on, too!

Making the case for Farm to School /Small Farms Programs:

“Our central kitchen was shipping about 1,400 or 1,500 meals a day – now we’re shipping about 3,500 meals a day. More people are buying our food because we are providing good quality. We have a reputation for providing good quality, good tasting food. Now we’re buying from 9 local farms consistently.” — Wenatchee School Nutrition Director

Show your legislators how important Farm to School programs are by showcasing this great example from Wenatchee School District – a video they created, “The Lunch Room”, showcases their impressive results (YouTube address: http://youtu.be/zJDgINrCakw) In the House, 34 representatives have signed on their support for saving these programs; in the Senate, 19 Senators have signed on. Send legislators a message of your support for funding these WSDA programs that create economic opportunities for Washington farms and serve healthy, local food to Washington schoolchildren.

With 200 advocates meeting with legislators in Olympia two weeks ago, our lobby day was a big success – don’t forget to take our quick Hunger Action Day survey by Monday evening (March 11) so we can plan an even better lobby day next year.

What’s Happening in Olympia:

This week marked the halfway point for the 2013 legislative session. Each of our anti-hunger priorities has a legislator sign on letter and we’re looking for more champions for all of them. When you ask your lawmakers to sign on to a letter of support, you’re letting them know what’s important in their communities.

Take Action! Reach out now and ask your lawmakers to sign letters of support for our hunger relief programs:

State Food Assistance:
Since benefit levels were cut in half last July, the average household on SFA now receives only $78.23 per month for food – just one-third of the resources needed  to be ‘food secure’ according to USDA’s own calculations. Our goal is 25 Senators to sign on to the support letter (lead by Senators Fain and Billig) to restore benefits for SFA.

We’re near our goal but not there yet! If your Senator isn’t listed, call them today and ask them to sign on. As of Thursday, these Senators have signed on: Fain, Billig, Cleveland, Dammeier, Darnielle, Frockt , Harper, Hasegawa, Hatfield, Hobbs, Keiser, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Litzow, McAuliffe, Rolfes, Ranker, Schlicher and Shin.

Emergency Food Assistance Program:
The number of food bank client visits has gone up by almost 40% since 2008, and the amount of food available to food banks hasn’t kept pace. Since 2010, the amount of food per client has been declining at the same time there has been more demand. Please make sure your organization has signed onto Washington Food Coalition’s community letter of support here.

If your lawmaker isn’t listed below, call them today and ask them to sign on! The Senate letter of support to add funds to EFAP, led by Sen. Hatfield, has been signed by: Billing, Conway, Harper and Hasegawa.

The House letter, championed by Reps. Blake and Standford, has the following signers: Bergquist, Cody, Liias, McCoy, Moscosco, Orwell, Pollett, Reykdel, Riccelli, Ryu, Standford, Tharinger, and Wylie.

Farm to School/ Small Farms Programs:

WSDA’s Farm to School and Small Farms Programs were de-funded and will be eliminated altogether if this year’s budget doesn’t restore funding to support this critical work to support healthy kids and economic opportunities for agricultural businesses. Contact your lawmakers if they have not signed letters of support to restore state funds for these programs:

Senators who support funding: Billig, Chase, Cleveland, Conway, Fraser, Harper, Hasegawa, Hatfield, Hobbs, Kline, Kohl-Welles, McAuliffe, Mullet, Murray, Pearson, Ranker, Rolfes, Schlicher Shin, and Parlette.

Representatives who have signed on: Blake, Condotta, Dunshee, Farrell, Fey, Goodman, Green, Haler, Hunt, Kagi, Lytton, McCoy, Moeller, Morrell, Ormsby, Pettigrew, Pike, Pollett, Reykdel, Riccelli, Ross, Ryu, Smith, Standford, Tarleton, Tharinger, Van de Wege, and Zeiger.

Last Thursday was a great day for Washington families -Supreme Court ruling on 2/3 supermajority on closing tax loopholes or raising revenue:

The state Supreme Court once again ruled unconstitutional another Tim Eyman initiative. This one required a 2/3 supermajority to close loopholes or raise revenue, rather than the simple majority (1/2 plus 1) that our state’s constitution requires. As legislators grapple with complying with last year’s Supreme Court McCleary ruling that requires our state to fully fund education, as well as the new federal funding cuts that Washington will face as a result of sequestration, advocates are thrilled that this ruling allows the Legislature to make smart choices for our future.

Unfortunately, Eyman and conservative Senators aren’t taking “no” for an answer.

Sen. Pam Roach has introduced an Amendment that would enshrine Eyman’s super-majority in our state’s Constitution forever.  Our Constitution is the foundation of our laws and values as a state. Yet conservative legislators see this amendment as a way to protect unjust tax loopholes for corporate special interests and the ultra-wealthy.Even worse,The Roach Amendment would lock in the recent cuts to classrooms, teachers, and opportunities for our children.

Now that the two-thirds majority rule is gone legislators should quickly move to reform our state’s outdated tax code. That includes closing unjust loopholes. Closing tax loopholes is an important part of raising revenue to prevent deeper budget cuts and fund the services that feed hungry people, growing minds and a healthy economy.

Take Action: Call your lawmakers – tell them to vote no on the Roach Amendment and reform our revenue system!

Town Hall Meetings:

Calling, emailing and faxing your lawmakers are great – attending our lobby day in Olympia was great -even better is showing up with your neighbors and friends  at town hall meetings. Now that they are approaching the really tough decisions  about funding programs, closing tax loopholes and weighing options for building  a more fair budget for families, many lawmakers are planning town hall meetings  in the next few weeks. Click here to find a meeting in your district – and speak up for hungry people! Questions or comments on any of this information are welcome – please contact Claire Lane at ClaireL@WithinReachWA.org or (206) 830-7642.