FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2018
CONTACT: [email protected]
Washington, D.C. - Poligon Education Fund welcomes the passage of H.R. 2 and S. 3042, also known as The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 or Farm Bill.
"Poligon applauds the bipartisan effort which led to the passage of this bill and is grateful to have worked with many organizational partners and faith communities to protect SNAP and other benefits that Americans rely on to survive,” said Poligon Founder and President, Wardah Khalid. “The alternative would have been devastating for these Americans and runs counter to our values as Muslim Americans. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) once said, ‘He is not a Muslim who goes to bed satiated while his neighbor goes hungry.'"
Earlier in the year, Poligon expressed concern at an ultimately failed version of the bill. Proposing to cut $20 billion dollars in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits over the next 10 years, which is equivalent to 13 billion meals, and impose harsher work requirements on those seeking to access food assistance, created additional barriers to SNAP participation. While the recently passed bill is not perfect, it, fortunately, did not implement the original cuts that caused the bill to fail.
There are still ways that SNAP and other benefits can be curtailed on an administrative level, and Poligon will continue to work to oppose them. In the meantime, we welcome this victory as a necessary step to keep the program funded.
Poligon Education Fund is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization working to strengthen Muslim American engagement with Congress through training, education, and advocacy on issues of concern to the community and its allies. Learn more at www.poligonnational.org.
December 20, 2018
CONTACT: [email protected]
Washington, D.C. - Poligon Education Fund welcomes the passage of H.R. 2 and S. 3042, also known as The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 or Farm Bill.
"Poligon applauds the bipartisan effort which led to the passage of this bill and is grateful to have worked with many organizational partners and faith communities to protect SNAP and other benefits that Americans rely on to survive,” said Poligon Founder and President, Wardah Khalid. “The alternative would have been devastating for these Americans and runs counter to our values as Muslim Americans. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) once said, ‘He is not a Muslim who goes to bed satiated while his neighbor goes hungry.'"
Earlier in the year, Poligon expressed concern at an ultimately failed version of the bill. Proposing to cut $20 billion dollars in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits over the next 10 years, which is equivalent to 13 billion meals, and impose harsher work requirements on those seeking to access food assistance, created additional barriers to SNAP participation. While the recently passed bill is not perfect, it, fortunately, did not implement the original cuts that caused the bill to fail.
There are still ways that SNAP and other benefits can be curtailed on an administrative level, and Poligon will continue to work to oppose them. In the meantime, we welcome this victory as a necessary step to keep the program funded.
Poligon Education Fund is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization working to strengthen Muslim American engagement with Congress through training, education, and advocacy on issues of concern to the community and its allies. Learn more at www.poligonnational.org.