CRS Meets Congressional Reps: September 2024

CRS San Pedro Chapter members were active advocating for important legislation for CRS's ministry in September.

By Mark McDermott

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In this election year, it is not anticipated that Farm Bill 2023 will be formally renewed until after the election. We must pray for another extension and highlight the urgency for action before jeopardizing the life-saving, hunger-reducing international humanitarian programs contained in it. For more information, see our blog post and CRS publications on the Farm Bill.

            To further this goal, the CRS San Pedro Chapter has successfully contributed to three member of Congress advocacy meetings this month:

• Senator Alex Padilla

• Senator Laphonza Butler

• Congressman Ted Lieu

In these conversations, we have learned about key sticking points in the language in both the House and Senate versions of the American Farmers Feed the World Act. The bills may only be able to be amended once they reach the floors of their respective houses. This makes it imperative that we persist in advocating for these programs: the offices of these members of Congress shared that only about 10% of the bills considered are directly mentioned by constituents in outreach. With perseverance and prayer, we can help guide legislation to maintain CRS’s critical ministries worldwide in this pivotal time in government.