Vasquez Keeps Promise to Fight for New Mexican Farmers and Families Throughout Farm Bill Process

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, May 23, 2024, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) opposed House Republicans’ partisan, anti-nutrition Farm Bill that would take food off the table of hungry families. Vasquez is disappointed that Republicans chose to cut food assistance programs by more than $30 billion nationwide, despite the bipartisan work in other areas of the Farm Bill. Vasquez successfully secured several bipartisan Farm Bill provisions that support New Mexico’s agricultural industry.

WATCH: Vasquez delivers remarks during Farm Bill Markup

“The Farm Bill must feed New Mexican families and support New Mexican farmers, ranchers and producers. I’ve met with people involved in all aspects of agriculture, including farmers, ranchers, farmworkers and agricultural researchers to ensure this bill represents the needs of New Mexico,” said Vasquez. “I’m proud to have worked on common-sense solutions for our state’s agricultural sector and will fight to get these provisions signed into law in a final bill. But today, I cannot support House Republicans’ unnecessary, partisan approach to the Farm Bill that would take food off the table for hardworking families.” 

Unfortunately, House Republicans refused to come to the table to support New Mexico’s hardworking families. Their partisan approach to the Farm Bill would cut benefits for hungry families in New Mexico by $340 million by changing the formula used to determine Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit amounts. Right now, one in four children are food insecure in New Mexico’s second congressional district. Vasquez is committed to fighting for hardworking families and ensuring they are able to continue putting food on the table. That’s why he ultimately voted against this partisan, anti-nutrition Farm Bill.

“We applaud Congressman Vasquez’s vote against today’s Farm Bill markups in the House Agriculture Committee,” said Whitney Holland, President of American Federation of Teachers New Mexico. “If enacted, this bill would cut $30 billion dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which would be devastating to the families and children across Congressional District 2 and throughout the communities we serve as educators in New Mexico. The SNAP program has been shown to reduce poverty, especially child poverty, and cuts to this lifeline for New Mexico families is unacceptable. Thank you, Congressman Vasquez, for standing up for our children.”

“La Semilla Food Center's mission is to create a more just and sustainable food system for our communities and farmers in southern New Mexico. We firmly believe that this will not be possible if the Farm Bill continues to omit environmental and worker protections and restricts food access for millions of Americans through SNAP funding cuts. We appreciate Congressman Vasquez's willingness to oppose the House’s Farm Bill proposal, a partisan farm bill that would only exacerbate the inequities within our food system,” said Josh Jasso, Farm Manager at La Semilla Food Center. “Food and farm workers continue to face hazardous conditions in the workplace and defunding programs which address the urgent need to increase the climate resiliency and safety of farms endangers current and future farmers and farm workers as well as our food supply.”

“Cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would be devasting for New Mexico.  Hunger is on the rise in our communities while the cost of food remains high,” said Dana Yost, President and CEO of Roadrunner Food Bank. “1 in 5 New Mexican children face food insecurity. SNAP helps thousands of households across our state access more nutritious meals which can improve and stabilize the health of each participant. This is especially important for seniors, children, and expectant mothers. It also provides a boost to New Mexico’s economy.  Roadrunner Food Bank applauds Representative Gabe Vasquez for voting to protect SNAP and help New Mexican families.”

“We applaud Congressmen Gabe Vasquez for voting against the House version of the Farm Bill. We need a bipartisan Farm Bill that is equitable and meets the needs of our farmers, ranchers and communities. In a very rural state with an aging population and some of the highest food insecurity in the nation, we need to keep SNAP whole,” said Pam Roy, Executive Director of Farm to Table. “We need a Farm Bill that invests in programs like the Local Agriculture Market Program and levels the playing field for small to mid-size farmers like many in New Mexico. And we need our conservation programs to be fully funded so that our farmers and ranchers can meet the needs of their operations and care for the land.”

“I am grateful to Congressman Vasquez for opposing the Farm Bill as it was introduced. I am a farmer and a rancher and this version of the farm bill should be renamed the anti farm bill as it would seriously harm my operation and the vast majority of small farms, as well as millions of working class people all over the country,” said Zach Withers of Polk’s Folly Farm. “The proposed cuts to SNAP would devastate both people experiencing hunger as well as farmers that provide food to that program. The attacks on conservation efforts undermine the future of farming, and the subversion of states rights to regulate food is an affront to our most basic liberties in service of corporate profits. Thank you, Congressman Vasquez, for standing up for farmers and families and opposing this markup.”

Throughout the process, Vasquez fought for New Mexico’s families and farmers in this year’s Farm Bill. Vasquez’s bipartisan WOLF Act, which fully compensates ranchers who suffer livestock losses due to wolf predation, and his bipartisan Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act, which provides financial support and resources to farmers, ranchers and producers to create wildlife corridors on their land, were both included in the bill. In addition, Vasquez secured a pilot program for Tribes to access the Commodity Supplemental Food Program directly. 

Additional Vasquez priorities were also included:

• Specialty Crop Security Act: Increases the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Specialty Crop Block Grant program authorization from $85 to $100 million per year to strengthen the nation’s agricultural industry by supporting the growth of more hardy fruits and vegetables and boosting farmers’ profits.
• Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act: Requires the USDA to initiate the process of holding Federal Milk Marketing Order hearings allowing producers and industry to consider and review proposals that could change Class I skim milk pricing. This ensures fair, accurate, and modern dairy pricing systems to allow dairy farmers to price their products to reflect today’s market value.
• Treating Tribes and Counties as Good Neighbors Act: Extends eligibility for the Forest Service’s Good Neighbor Authority program for federal forest restoration and management projects to Tribes and counties and increases opportunities for cross-boundary restoration.
• Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act: Adds the option of whole milk in school nutrition programs to ensure that students receive the many health benefits and nutrients milk provides to young Americans.
• Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act: Expands outdoor recreation opportunities in New Mexico by providing grants to states and Tribal governments to incentivize private landowners to voluntarily open their lands for public use while upholding private property rights.

Vasquez also secured additional priorities for New Mexico’s agricultural industry, from expanding the Tree Assistance Program to support pecan growers to benefiting New Mexico’s farmers who sell products in Mexico.

Ahead of the Farm Bill markup process, Vasquez formed his own Agricultural Advisory Groupcomposed of agricultural leaders from all across New Mexico’s second congressional district to share their priorities for the bill. 

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