Padilla Statement on House-Passed Farm Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) released the following statement on the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026.
“California is home to the largest agricultural economy in the country and I am committed to delivering a farm bill that works for farmers, growers, ranchers, and families.
“The House-passed version is not the answer — it does not reverse the devastating SNAP cuts made by Trump’s Anything But Beautiful Bill – a blow to families and growers alike who continue struggle with soaring costs due to Trump’s war in Iran and his reckless tariffs. In addition, California voters passed Proposition 12 by a wide margin. Overriding the will of the people does not belong in the farm bill.
“California’s families and growers deserve better. I look forward to working with my colleagues to make the meaningful changes necessary to get this bill right.”
Approximately 40 million Americans — including 5.5 million Californians — depend on SNAP benefits to help afford their groceries, which has only grown more essential amid skyrocketing food prices under President Trump. Last year, Padilla joined a spotlight forum titled “Hunger by Design — The GOP’s Assault on SNAP” to question witnesses and expose Trump and Republicans’ cruel budget proposal that cut nearly $200 billion in SNAP benefits while giving tax cuts to billionaires.
Padilla voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Republicans’ billionaire-first budget reconciliation bill that gutted critical programs, including SNAP, spoke on the Senate floor against the Republican budget resolution, and voted against advancing it in the Senate in both February and April 2025. He also condemned House Republicans’ passage of the reconciliation bill that gutted critical programs that California families rely on to put food on the table.
California is the fifth largest supplier of food in the world — home to a $61 billion agriculture industry producing over 400 commodities, growing more than a third of the nation’s vegetables, and three-quarters of its fruit and nut crops. To meet the demands of consumers, food companies, and farmers, California has enacted necessary public health, food safety, and humane standards for the in-state production and sale of certain products. These standards include consumer information safeguards, food quality and safety regulations, animal welfare standards, and more.
Last year, Padilla joined Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) in leading 28 of their Senate Colleagues in an effort to protect California’s Proposition 12. Prior to that, he joined the late Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in leading a bipartisan group of senators calling on the Senate Agriculture Committee to not include the controversial Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act (EATS) Act in any future farm bill.
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