- Julián Castro
« Eliminate
Hunger
Julián for the Future
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Contact: Sawyer Hackett
Julián Castro Unveils New Plan to Eliminate Hunger in the U.S.
SAN
ANTONIO,
TX (November 27, 2019) –
On
Wednesday,
November
27,
2019,
presidential
candidate, U.S. Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under President Obama and former
Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, Julián Castro, unveiled via
Medium his People First Plan to End Hunger in America, an ambitious plan to eliminate hunger and malnutrition in the U.S.
“As
a
nation,
we
have
a
moral obligation to ensure that no one goes hungry and that everyone has the
nourishment to thrive,” said Secretary Julián Castro.
“Food is a basic human right, like oxygen and water, and we need to
make our federal nutrition programs stronger for all Americans to reach
their full potential. I believe that when the most vulnerable people
succeed, our entire nation makes progress.”
The
People
First Plan to
End Hunger in
America
calls
for
universal
school
meals
to end the practice of “lunch
shaming” and for eliminating all student lunch debt. As president,
Secretary Castro will
increase
SNAP
benefits,
expand
eligibility
for
folks in need, and
eliminate unreasonable restrictions on hot and prepared foods. This plan also focuses on increasing
access in food deserts so a nutritious diet does not depend on
where you live. Secretary Castro will
work
to
build
a
more
just food system with changes to address
immigration, climate change, labor and support families.
Secretary Castro’s Plan to
End Hunger in
America
can
be
viewed
on Medium and
below:
Over
37
million
Americans
--
as
many people as live in California,
our
most
populous
state
--
are at risk of going hungry.
Food
insecurity
is not only a symptom of poverty and inequality, but a
reflection of our national priority. Throughout this presidential
campaign, I have consistently and
constantly
elevated
the
challenges
of
the
most vulnerable people and
the most underserved communities. We need to fight for the poor,
the homeless,
the sick,
the incarcerated,
the undocumented,
the forgotten,
and
yes,
the hungry. Everyone
counts in this country, and it’s about time our public policies
reflected that fundamental truth.
Today, one
in
seven
children, about the population of Ohio, suffer from hunger. More than 5
million
seniors,
approximately the metro area of Atlanta, are uncertain about their next
meal. Rural counties are disproportionately affected, comprising 79
percent of the counties with the
highest
food
insecurity
rates, but only comprise 63 percent of all
counties. African American households are more than twice
as
likely to face hunger than
white
households,
and
Latinos
are
50 percent more
at
risk. People are working full-time jobs, sometimes multiple
jobs, and are still unable to make ends meet.
As
a
child,
I
saw
the
grocery
list get shorter and shorter as our family
budget got tighter and tighter. At the end of the month, my
mom would
struggle to afford the rent, pay the bills, and make sure the lights
stayed on and the water did not shut off. She raised my brother and I
as a single parent, and we lived with my grandmother who raised my mom
as a single parent too. I still vividly remember my mom’s panic when
her hair started falling out due to the stress of putting food on the
table. But thank God we had each other, the support of our community,
strong federal programs like Medicare and Pell
Grants, and an unwavering faith that a better future is
possible.
Hunger is
a complex problem, intertwined with inequities of race, class, gender,
and geography, and we will only overcome this challenge with a
concerted national effort. And that’s what I will lead as president. We
cannot move forward as one nation if only a few are prosperous and fed
while many are poor and hungry.
That’s
why
I’m
proposing
an
ambitious People First plan to
End Hunger in
America.
If
we
invest in stronger federal nourishment programs, I
believe that this generation can defeat malnutrition and achieve
freedom from hunger.
As
a
nation,
we
have
a
moral
obligation to ensure that every child has the
nourishment to learn and the basic necessities to thrive. Today
students are are being shamed when they cannot
afford
to
eat. Our kids are receiving school
lunch
debt instead of a hot meal, and often face hunger while
in college. As president, we will end “lunch shaming” by making meals
free for every public school student, cancel all school lunch debt, and
ensure college students are eligible for SNAP benefits. Too many
children also go hungry during the summer,
and I’m proposing that we extend at least $60 per child on EBT cards
for every month out of school. We will also reinstate Obama
Administration rules to establish national nutrition standards so that
all of our children’s school meals are healthy. Building on the
progress of the Obama Administration, I will designate a National
Nutrition Advisor to coordinate federal, state and local, private, and
non-profit action to end hunger in
America.
In
his first
State
of
the
Union
address,
the last Texan Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a War on
Poverty and soon after signed legislation creating a national food
assistance program. Since then, millions of Americans have avoided the
pain of hunger, and I’m
proposing
that we strengthen the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP). First, SNAP benefits are insufficient. They do
not
cover
the
cost
of
a meal in
99 percent of the United States. We need to increase support by at
least 30 percent to close the gap. Second, we will expand eligibility
by banning unjustified
work
requirements imposed during the 1990s under
a conservative agenda. During the 2009 recession, every $1 increase in
SNAP benefit generated about
$1.70
in
economic
activity. In other words, SNAP benefits are one of the
most
effective
methods of
economic stimulus. Third, we will eliminate restrictions on hot and
prepared foods that are discriminatory and unreasonable in a modern
economy. And as president, we will strengthen the Women Infants and
Children Program (WIC) to ensure newborns and new mothers have the
nutritional support they need to be healthy and happy.
Access
to
healthy
food
in
America
is far from equal. Whether you live in a
rural
community where grocery stores are closing
or live in
parts
of
the
inner-city where
they refuse to open, food deserts are all too common. When I’m
president, we will fight for fair access to healthy food in every
community. This starts by directing federal resources toward
underserved areas to encourage the creation of more food options,
including small business loans for greater local production and
encouraging Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) models. To support
families living far from brick-and-mortar grocery stores, I support
allowing EBT cards to be used for online delivery and food shopping.
Fundamentally, the opportunity to eat a nutritious diet should not
depend on where you live.
As
we
work
to
end hunger in
America,
we
will
also
build
a
more just food system. The workers who
harvest our crops and serve our meals should not struggle to feed their
families. We need to raise incomes and reduce poverty across the
country with investments
such
as expanding
Medicare to all Americans, universal child care, a $3,000 Child Tax
Credit (CTC) per child, and a massive expansion of the Earned Income
Tax Credit (EITC) to reward hard work. We will also completely reform
our
immigration
system with
common sense and compassion, including repealing the public change
rule, expanding guest worker visas, and creating a pathway to
citizenship for undocumented immigrants. As president, farm and
domestic
workers
will
be
added
under
labor law protections and we will
strengthen the right to organize a union. While we combat the
existential threat of climate change, we will support
communities
on
the
frontlines
of
change and
address racial and geographical disparities. Ending hunger demands that we marshal the
full power of the federal government and the American people.
The
right
to
eat
is
a
human right. Like oxygen, water, and shelter, food is
a
basic
necessity
for
human
survival. And research shows that access to
food has a profound
impact
on
health,
wellbeing and economic outcomes. In the wealthiest nation on Earth, we
can all agree that every person should have three meals a day and live
without fear of hunger. I
believe we have the capacity to end hunger in
America.
In
1964,
Rev.
Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. shared in his Nobel
Prize
acceptance
speech,
“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three
meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds,
and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.” That moral vision
for America’s future is achievable if invest in the most underserved
communities. And in doing so, we will unleash the full potential of all
of her people.
Ending Hunger in America
The
United
States
produces
more
food
than
any other nation in the world.
Food grown in America finds its way to grocery shelves and dinner
tables on every corner of the globe. Yet millions of Americans go hungry every day. Millions more
live with the constant stress and fear that they are one setback away
from going hungry themselves.
Measuring
its
total
negative
economic
impact, hunger costs
the
American
economy over
$165
billion a year, and would be cheaper to
solve. Inevitably, food insecurity and hunger disproportionately affect
those already vulnerable or forgotten in our society. While hunger affects
people of every race and background, communities of color, immigrant
communities, people with disabilities, families and individuals
impacted by the criminal justice system, and LGBT people are all more
likely to be food insecure.
In 2018, 11%
of
all
U.S.
households were
food insecure. As president, in addition to increasing employment and
raising wages, I will invest in our existing federal nutrition programs
and expand them to fight hunger while
deploying
new
strategies
to
eliminate hunger in
our
schools
and
ensure
people
living in food deserts have access to the
nutrition they need.
- Strengthen
Federal
Food
Assistance. The
Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known
as the Food Stamp Program, has been one of the most effective
anti-poverty programs in American history. Tragically, the Trump
administration has dedicated much of its agenda attempting to dismantle
SNAP. In addition to ending the Trump administration’s war on hungry and
poor Americans, I will implement long overdue improvements to both
expand the eligibility of SNAP and increase the support SNAP provides
to fully meet the needs of Americans living with food insecurity.
- Increase
SNAP
Benefits. Currently,
for many families SNAP benefits run out 2-3 weeks into the month and
average only $1.40 per person, per meal. As president, I will ensure
SNAP benefits provide adequate support, especially to households with
children and teenagers. We will pass the Closing the Meal Gap Act to
update the outdated Thrifty Food Plan formula
by
which
the
U.S.
Department
of Agriculture calculates benefits and
instead use the Low Cost Food Plan that
will
expand
SNAP
benefits
to
better
reflect the needs of SNAP
recipients. I will also expand SNAP benefits to families with children
and teenagers by at least $42 per child per month as specified in the
SNAP for Kids Act of 2018.
- Expand SNAP Eligibility. The vast majority of SNAP recipients are children, working parents, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and people who are temporarily unemployed. Work reporting requirements create unnecessary bureaucratic hassles for many who are employed and penalize those who are out of work. Eliminating these requirements and simplifying administration of programs would result in savings for states and local governments. As president, I will work with Congress to end work reporting requirements imposed on SNAP access, including by passing the Improving Access to Nutrition Act of 2019. I also support eliminating other barriers to the program, including restrictions by certain states to access SNAP or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits for the formerly-incarcerated.
- Increase
SNAP
Benefits. Currently,
for many families SNAP benefits run out 2-3 weeks into the month and
average only $1.40 per person, per meal. As president, I will ensure
SNAP benefits provide adequate support, especially to households with
children and teenagers. We will pass the Closing the Meal Gap Act to
update the outdated Thrifty Food Plan formula
by
which
the
U.S.
Department
of Agriculture calculates benefits and
instead use the Low Cost Food Plan that
will
expand
SNAP
benefits
to
better
reflect the needs of SNAP
recipients. I will also expand SNAP benefits to families with children
and teenagers by at least $42 per child per month as specified in the
SNAP for Kids Act of 2018.
- Eliminate
Restrictions
on
Hot
and
Prepared
Foods. Restrictions
on
buying
hot or prepared foods with SNAP benefits are harmful and
impractical for many SNAP recipients. Such restrictions exclude people
experiencing homelessness, who may not have a kitchen to prepare food
or a fridge to store it and fail to recognize the severe time
constraints that poverty creates, such as those working multiple jobs.
As president, I will allow individuals paying with an Electronic
Benefits Transfer (EBT) card to buy hot and prepared meals that are
ready to eat.
- Maintain
the
National
Categorical
Eligibility
Rule. Broad
Based
Categorical
Eligibility (BBCE) allows state governments to cut
red tape for SNAP eligibility so that families do not have complete
duplicative application processes for multiple benefit programs and
waive counterproductive asset limits for SNAP eligibility and relax
income thresholds so that low-income families do not face a benefit
cliff when their earnings exceed 130 percent of the federal poverty
line. As president, I will reverse the Trump administration rule
seeking to end BBCE for states and instead implement a national
categorical eligibility rule requiring every state to implement BBCE
standards.
- Expand
Women
Infants
and
Children
Program. WIC
provides
crucial nutritional support to millions of expectant and new
parents, infants, and young children. The program also makes
much-needed early investments in health, not only improving outcomes
for new parents and infants, but also resulting
in
$2.48
savings
in
health
care costs for each dollar spent on
the
program.
As
president, I will expand WIC to ensure the program is
able to meet not just the current caseload but the full needs of every
eligible child, infant, and new and expectant parents. In addition to
my proposals to lower the costs of raising a child by expanding the
Earned Income Tax Credit, creating a $3,000 child allowance,
implementing universal pre-K and child care, I support raising WIC
support until a child’s sixth birthday, up from the fifth birthday
today, and extending eligibility for new parents up to two years
postpartum. The WIC program is also vitally important to support new
parents with counseling on breastfeeding, including through the Peer
Counselor Program that has been chronically underfunded. I support
fully funding that program, in addition to improving investments into
nutrition science research through the United States Department of
Agriculture and its efforts to evaluate and improve SNAP, WIC, and
other federal nutrition programs. I also commit to improving enrollment
in the WIC program, including by lengthening the certification
period
for infants and parents and integrating WIC enrollment into an expanded
and universal Medicare program.
- Protecting
Access
to
Benefits. While
government benefits such as SNAP provide a crucial lifeline to
struggling families, this aid is often enormously difficult to access
and to keep. Many people, especially in vulnerable or marginalized
populations, are not even aware of the programs they are legally
eligible for. Furthermore, the application process is too often overly
complex, bureaucratic, stigmatizing, or adversarial. As president, I
will ensure everyone who is eligible for SNAP or WIC benefits is aware
of what they are legally entitled to and able to easily access them,
including through supporting state governments in streamlining benefits
application processes for federally-funded state-run programs,
including through online applications. I am also committed to passing
the Equality Act to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation,
gender identity, or gender expression in all federal programs. That
will include ensuring these programs are responsive to changes in
personal information, including gender identity and gender expression,
to ensure continued access to individuals in the LGBTQ community.
I
will combine applications for SNAP and WIC benefits with other
anti-poverty assistance such as housing assistance, into one
streamlined application process, utilizing the latest technology for
accessibility. I will also fund education and enrollment campaigns
targeting particularly vulnerable groups such as seniors, farmworkers,
immigrants, communities living in food deserts, members of the LGBTQ
community, and non-English speakers.
- Increases Access in Food Deserts. Too many low-income Americans must travel long distances, using scarce time and money, to access healthy food. One of the leading drivers of food insecurity is lack of physical access to food and groceries. Food deserts are defined as areas where residents often lack easy access to nutritious food such as fruits or vegetables, often due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers markets, or other food providers, most often in underserved and low-income communities in both urban and rural settings. We should work to ensure every corner of our country has access to a nutritious diet.
- Federally
Designate
and
Support
Food
Deserts. As
president,
I will create a national task force convening the
Departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development,
Transportation, and Health and Human Services, along with the Small
Business Administration which will formally designate food deserts.
This designation will unlock federal grants and special supports to
foster the creation of community and local government-run grocery
stores, farmers markets, and food banks, ensure full enrollment in SNAP
and WIC benefits, and support community centers such as schools and
churches becoming resource and nutrition centers, including through the
community schools model.
- Support
Local
Food
Production. As
president, I will support increased regional food processing, through
technical assistance, seed money, and grants through the Small Business
Administration. Rather than seeing food shipped across the country for
processing and then shipping it back for sale and consumption,
processing food closer to its source will reduce food waste, reduce
climate-impact, and allow greater amounts of surplus produce to be
donated before it spoils.
- Community
Supported
Agriculture. Community
supported agriculture (CSA) models, where individuals effectively buy a
small share in a farm and get paid back in farm produce, are
increasingly popular as a way to get local, fresh produce. However,
while CSA models are benefiting farmers and many affluent consumers,
they are often in-accessible for low-income families. As president, I
will support expanding access to CSA-models for low-income people,
including with federal subsidies and ensuring that EBT cards can be
used to access CSA membership.
- Expand
Online
EBT
Use. One
of the best ways to ensure food is available in regions without
brick-and-mortar grocery stores is to allow online retailers to accept
payment through EBT benefit cards. As president, I take lessons learned
from USDA pilot programs and expand online grocery shopping and
delivery acceptance of payment through EBT cards to ensure those
receiving SNAP or WIC benefits can access healthy food regardless of
where they live.
- Stop Hunger in Schools. No
one,
especially
a
child,
should
go hungry in
the
richest
and
most
powerful
nation to ever exist. As president, I
will work to make sure that hunger is
eliminated
in
our
schools.
- Universal School Meals. Across our nation, children have been shamed and penalized for accessing the most basic of necessities. The phrase “school lunch debt” should not exist. As president, I will ensure that children are not discriminated against because of an inability to pay for breakfast or lunch. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, has allowed millions of students to receive the nutrition they need in schools. School-wide universal meal programs lower administrative costs, expand access and participation, and improves health and educational outcomes. As president, I would defend and build on the success of the Community Eligibility Provision by passing legislation to require and fund every public school in the United States that provides federally-funded school meals to provide nutritious, universal, free breakfasts and lunches programs to every student, without requiring paperwork from their families. I will also school participation in CEP by increasing reimbursement rates and lowering the proportion of students from low-income families required to participate in the program, currently at 40 percent, in order to achieve universal school meals.
- Expand
Summer
Meals. As
president, I will expand the USDA Summer Food Service program to allow
children to have three meals a day. Additionally, I will build on the
successes of the Summer Lunch EBT Pilot program that provided children
from low-income families with additional support during the summer
months and make it a permanent program, providing at least $60 dollars
per month, per child for every month in which school is out for longer
than two weeks through their EBT cards.
- Implement
National
Nutrition
Standard. To
promote health and increase long-term positive outcomes for our
children, we must ensure that our children’s school meals are
nutritious. As president, I will reverse Trump administration efforts
that undercut the nutrition of our school meals and fully implement the
long-delayed nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program
(NSLP) that former First Lady Michelle Obama championed and Congress
adopted with the Healthy, Hungry-Free
Kids
Act
of
2010.
- Eliminate
College Hunger. Today,
many
students
in
college
and
universities
struggle with food
insecurity, a leading cause of failure to graduate from college. I have
committed to investing in our schools and universities to ensure public
colleges are tuition-free. As a part of my People First Education plan,
I have also called for increasing the maximum Pell Grant to $10,000 and
allowing these grants to be used for living expenses and reforming the
Earned Income Tax Credit to boost incomes for students. To end hunger for
students in college, I also support removing work requirements under
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, allowing students who
are food insecure to focus on their studies and graduate on time.
- Raise Incomes and Combat Poverty. In addition to expanding food assistance programs, investing in nutrition at schools, and ensuring all communities have access to groceries food, raising incomes across the board and combating poverty will both ensure families can afford the nutrition they need and provide families with the flexibility they need. My anti-poverty plan includes expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit to increase the incomes of families of four by up to $9000, expanding the Child Tax Credit to $3000 and making it fully refundable, guaranteeing universal health care by strengthening Medicare for those who have it and expanding it to every American, investing in affordable housing, expanding Social Social Disability (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and establishing universal pre-K and child care in the United States. This anti-poverty agenda will raise incomes and address some of the most expensive costs for low-income families, including health care and child care.
Food is about people. The food we eat does more than provide nutrition; it is a marker of our cultures, a connection to family and friends, and one of the most intimate ways in which our personal actions affect and are affected by the world around us. Food production is also how millions of people make a living, and any food-focused policy must make sure that the people who feed us are able to feed themselves and their families. Lastly, food is also about our responsibility to the world we live in, the soil we plant in, the animals we raise for consumption, the health of rural communities, and the overall climate of the planet.
- Support
Small
Family
Farmers. For decades,
small farming operations have faced multiple challenges that only
continue to grow, from climate
change to an aging
workforce. The average age of a family farmer in the United States
today continues
to
rise and more and more small farmers are choosing
to
call
it
quits.
As president, I will support America’s small family farms, including
with expanding micro-loans, providing technical assistance and
financial support to new farmers, and preparing farmers to deal with
the realities of climate change and a shrinking labor force.
- End the Destructive Trade War. President Trump’s mismanaged trade war with both our allies and China has hurt farmers across the country who have lost access to significant markets and customers. His trade policies have also effectively raised taxes on ordinary Americans by an average of up to $1000 per household. As president, I will take the economic challenge China poses seriously, but rather than alienate our allies and fail to close a deal with China, I will work with those allies that have similar concerns regarding China’s economic policies and ensure American farmers and consumers are in a stronger position.
- Enforce Antitrust Laws Against Harmful Mergers and Acquisitions in Agriculture. Corporate consolidation has hurt consumers in tech, finance, industry, and agriculture. This consolidation also hurts small, family farmers who face significant challenges in competing against companies that engage in anti-competitive behaviors. As president, I will appoint an Attorney General that takes corporate consolidation in agriculture seriously and provide them the freedom and mandate to scrutinize mergers and acquisitions and apply federal antitrust laws strictly and thoroughly.
- Justice
for
Workers. Our
food is more than the dignity, justice, fair wages, and citizenship for
people who feed us needs part of any food justice policy in this
country.
- Guarantee a Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers. Every worker deserves a living wage, and I am committed to raising the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour, including for tipped workers, and tied to the cost of living.
- For more information see my Working Families Plan.
- Justice
for
Farmworkers. Agricultural
labor has historically been excluded from labor laws applicable to
other industries, such as the right to organize, overtime pay, and
child labor laws. As president, I will end the exclusion of farmworkers
from basic labor protections and invest in farmworker communities to
make sure the families that feed us are able to feed themselves.
- For
more
information
see
my Justice
for
Farmworkers plan.
- For
more
information
see
my Justice
for
Farmworkers plan.
- Reform
our
Broken
Immigration
System. Our
nation’s food system depends on the contributions of immigrants, many
of whom are undocumented. From farmworkers in the fields to kitchen
staff in the finest restaurants, the hands that feed us are immigrant
hands. I will pass immigration reform that recognizes these
contributions and provides undocumented immigrants, as well as
immigrants on guest worker visas, a path to citizenship.
- Repeal
the
Public
Charge
Rule. As
president, I will repeal the Trump administration’s cruel public charge
rule that denies citizenship to immigrant families who rely on public
services such as SNAP benefits. We should not stigmatize the use of
government services, which are here to support families in need.
Immigrants, for centuries, have relied on social safety nets, whether
from governments, churches, neighbors, or other charitable
organizations, when making their lives in our country. Furthermore, the
Public Charge rule has created widespread fear in immigrant communities
of using even government program. This policy is not just cruel to
immigrants, but directly harms the nutrition of U.S. citizen children
in immigrant families. Millions of immigrants have come to the United
States in search of opportunity, fleeing hunger, poverty, or war. I will fight for an America
that welcomes immigrants.
- For
more
information
see
my People
First
Immigration Plan.
- For
more
information
see
my People
First
Immigration Plan.
- Pursue
Racial
Justice. The
history of our nation’s food system is rife with racial injustice; from
indigenous peoples whose lands were taken to make way for ranching and
farming, to Japanese-Americans who lost their farms during internment,
to the ongoing dispossession of Black farmers today. As president, I
will root out the legacy of racial discrimination in farming and land
ownership and support Food justice must include racial justice.
- Combat
Discrimination
at
USDA. I
will address the history of racism and discrimination within the
Department of Agriculture that has resulted in negative economic impact
on farmers of color, including loss of land. I will appoint experts and
activists with a track record of defending farmers of color and
farmworkers to every position at USDA and fully investigate
discrimination at USDA by implementing regular Government
Accountability Office audits of the USDA to investigate loan practices
towards marginalized communities, conduct oversight of existing and
future loan and technical assistance programs to find and end racial
and other disparities, and establish streamlined civil rights violation
reporting to monitor discrimination.
- Support
Minority-Owned
Farms. As
president, I will establish a federal “Next Generation Farmers” land
trust to support new small farmers and combat the legacy and continuing
effects of discrimination. The trust will fund purchases of farmland
from retiring farmers who choose to voluntarily sell their land and
sell land to new farmers, including farmworkers and other marginalized
communities such as black farmers, or to small farmers looking to
expand their family farms. This program will also support small and
marginalized farmers with estate planning assistance
to
keep
farms
within
their
families
and be coordinated with programs to
extend internet access and other public services to underserved rural
communities. This trust will be funded with at least $200 million each
year, including through antitrust and environmental penalties on large
agricultural corporations and increased corporate income taxes on these
corporations from the repeal of the Trump tax bill. I will also
establish a $100 million loan and subsidy program through the Farm
Service Agency specifically to help farmworkers to become farm owners
through loans, guarantees, and technical assistance.
- For
more
information
see
my Justice
for
Farmworkers plan.
- For
more
information
see
my Justice
for
Farmworkers plan.
- Support
Indigenous
Food
Practices. As
president, I will provide federal funding to tribes to increase the
availability of culturally-appropriate food, including by ensuring
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits support
culturally-appropriate foods and supporting tribal farmers markets to
improve market access for indigenous farmers.
- For
more
information
see
my People
First Plan for
Indigenous
Communities.
- For
more
information
see
my People
First Plan for
Indigenous
Communities.
- Combat
Discrimination
at
USDA. I
will address the history of racism and discrimination within the
Department of Agriculture that has resulted in negative economic impact
on farmers of color, including loss of land. I will appoint experts and
activists with a track record of defending farmers of color and
farmworkers to every position at USDA and fully investigate
discrimination at USDA by implementing regular Government
Accountability Office audits of the USDA to investigate loan practices
towards marginalized communities, conduct oversight of existing and
future loan and technical assistance programs to find and end racial
and other disparities, and establish streamlined civil rights violation
reporting to monitor discrimination.
- Advance
Environmental
Justice.
- Environmental
Justice
for
Rural
Communities. Rural
communities are exposed to many negative impacts due to intensive
agricultural production, such as tainted water and pesticide exposure.
As president, I will create new regulations and investments to protect
rural communities from environment hazards such as clean air labor
standards for farmworkers, and investing in guaranteeing clean water to
rural communities. I will also pass new civil rights legislation to
address environmental discrimination, including require all federal
actions to be reviewed for environmental and health impacts on
low-income and marginalized communities, reforming and empowering the
EPA’s Office of External Civil Rights Compliance to bring justice to
victims of environmental discrimination, and instituting a private
right of action for victims of environmental racism under Title VI of
the Civil Rights Act. I will require state governments receiving EPA
assistance to implement environmental justice action plans that
meet minimum standards and are verified by the EPA. I will also restore
President Obama’s Waters of the United States rule that applies the
Clean Water Act to tributaries and wetlands, and go further to combat
pollution and runoff from industry and agriculture.
- Climate-Friendly
Agriculture. With
the right policy changes, our agriculture can not only cease to
contribute to carbon emissions but can actively reduce them and remove
carbon from the atmosphere. As president, I will invest in programs to
eliminate carbon emissions in agriculture and land use through
reforming economic support programs for farms, including the
Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) and the Conservation
Reserve Program (CRP) to meet climate goals, including by investing in
regenerative agriculture.
- For
more
information
see
my People
and
Planet
First Plan.
- For
more
information
see
my People
and
Planet
First Plan.
- Protecting
Animals
and
Wildlife. I
believe we must recognize our moral duty to every living creature. As
president, I will establish minimum standards for animal welfare in
agriculture including minimum space standards for livestock and
poultry, that improve healthy and sustainable farming practices,
support funding for farms to participate in independent animal welfare
certification programs to improve transparency of agricultural
practices, with publicly available inspection reports to inform
consumers, and oppose efforts by states to institute “ag-gag” laws that
silence whistleblowers, limit transparency, and have repeatedly been
ruled unconstitutional.
- For more information see my PAW Plan.
- Environmental
Justice
for
Rural
Communities. Rural
communities are exposed to many negative impacts due to intensive
agricultural production, such as tainted water and pesticide exposure.
As president, I will create new regulations and investments to protect
rural communities from environment hazards such as clean air labor
standards for farmworkers, and investing in guaranteeing clean water to
rural communities. I will also pass new civil rights legislation to
address environmental discrimination, including require all federal
actions to be reviewed for environmental and health impacts on
low-income and marginalized communities, reforming and empowering the
EPA’s Office of External Civil Rights Compliance to bring justice to
victims of environmental discrimination, and instituting a private
right of action for victims of environmental racism under Title VI of
the Civil Rights Act. I will require state governments receiving EPA
assistance to implement environmental justice action plans that
meet minimum standards and are verified by the EPA. I will also restore
President Obama’s Waters of the United States rule that applies the
Clean Water Act to tributaries and wetlands, and go further to combat
pollution and runoff from industry and agriculture.
Food
Safety
and
Consumer
Protection. I
will work to restore consumer trust in the safety of American food by
combating corruption and undue business influence within the Department
of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, including by
rolling back Trump administration regulation changes that reduced
regulatory oversight.
Julián Castro served as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama from 2014-2017. Before that, he was Mayor of his native San Antonio, Texas — the youngest mayor of a Top 50 American city at the time. In 2012, he gave a rousing keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, during which he described the American Dream as a relay to be passed from generation to generation. In 2018, Castro founded Opportunity First, an organization to invest in the next generation of progressive leaders. In October 2018, Little, Brown published Castro’s memoir, An Unlikely Journey: Waking Up from My American Dream. On January 12, 2019, Secretary Castro announced his candidacy for President of the United States. Follow Julián Castro on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. JulianfortheFuture.com and Julianparaelfuturo.com.