US Senate passes Farm Bill to fund Puerto Rico's food assistance

FE Online Desk

The US Senate has passed the 2018 Farm Bill that includes an amendment to fund Puerto Rico's Supplementary Nutritional Assistance Program with up to 635 million in US dollars.

More than 0.7 million people will benefit from the new law - the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, in a statement on Saturday.

"The hurricanes pushed more than half of the island's people into poverty. The food assistance passed in the Senate is urgently needed," according to LeCompte.

The non-profit financial reform entity had lobbied Congress on the amendment and issued an action alert to secure support for the amendment, the statement cited.

The Jubilee USA is an alliance of more than 75 US organisations and 650 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners, aimed at building an economy that works for the most vulnerable.