Pablo José Hernández, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, has led a bipartisan initiative urging the leaders and ranking members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to include H.R. 5168, known as the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act, in the upcoming Farm Bill.
This recent effort brought together a record number of 20 lawmakers from both parties. The group’s goal is to address longstanding differences between Puerto Rico’s nutrition assistance program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) available in U.S. states.
“Puerto Rico has operated for decades under a fixed allocation of funds for food assistance that does not automatically adjust when an economic recession, natural disaster or increased need occurs—situations that SNAP addresses in the states,” wrote Hernández and his colleagues. “Including this measure in the Farm Bill would bring long-awaited equity to more than 1.3 million low-income people on the Island who depend on this aid, while establishing an orderly and responsible transition.”
H.R. 5168 proposes a gradual transition from Puerto Rico’s current Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) to SNAP over at least ten years. The bill requires Puerto Rico’s government to submit a transition plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and receive federal technical support during implementation. Supporters argue that this change would give Puerto Rico equal footing with states regarding nutrition assistance programs and improve its ability to respond to future economic downturns or natural disasters.
Hernández stated he will continue working throughout Farm Bill negotiations so that Puerto Rican families have fair and reliable access to federal nutrition programs.
