POLICY FOCUS
Work of 2013 Not Over
A Full Hunger Agenda for 2014
Last year ended with a mixed-bag list of accomplishments
for Congress regarding hunger- and poverty-related legislation. However, legislators gave a gift to Americans right before
Christmas in passing a budget for the federal government.
American ships as required by U.S. law. This means these
agencies must use from $50 to $100 million for shipping
costs instead of food-aid items.
This part of the budget deal highlights the need for foodaid reform, the focus of Bread’s 2014 Offering of Letters, as
it shows that the current law is taking money away from the
food-aid budget, funds that could be spent on helping more
hungry and malnourished people.
Budget and Appropriations
Before Congress left for its holiday recess, it passed a budget bill, which was signed by President Obama. The new
budget sets top-line discretionary spending levels for fiscal
Farm Bill
years 2014 and 2015. Members of the House and Senate ApIn December, the farm bill conference committee decidpropriations Committees will be busy during the recess deed to delay the release of its deal until early January. Bread
ciding how to split up the budget pie for individual programs.
is eagerly awaiting a deal on the bill when Congress returns,
The deal ends the threat of continued fiscal cliffs and
one that protects and strengthens SNAP (formerly food
budget brinksmanship and provides budget stability and cerstamps) and supports international food-aid reforms.
tainty, which benefits the economy and the political system.
The bill’s major failure is the absence of an extension to Poverty-Focused Development Assistance
Along with our 25 partners in the Interfaith Working
unemployment benefits. Federal emergency unemployment
benefits expired at the end of December, which left 1.3 mil- Group on Foreign Assistance, Bread will continue to advolion people without their benefits the week after Christmas. cate for the highest possible funding levels for international
More than five million unemployed workers will be unable humanitarian and poverty-focused development assistance
programs within the FY 2014 State-Forto access emergency unemployment beneign Operations bill.
efits in 2014 if Congress fails to extend
them. Congress must rectify its omission
Immigration Reform
and extend emergency unemployment This is not the budget
Lawmakers of both parties left for the
immediately upon returning in January.
agreement that Bread for the
holidays saying they would return to imHowever, the budget deal did replace World wanted, but the smaller migration reform early [