Food Policy Action 2017 Scorecard

Food Policy Action recently released their 2017 scorecard, revealing where members of Congress stand on important food policy issues in this country during a turbulent political climate. The 6th annual progress report shares objective information about votes taken and bills introduced by Congress on policies that affect everyone who eats, from producers to consumers. This year’s takeaway? Washington is falling short when it comes to food policy, showing little progress in this first year of the 115th Congress.

The 2017 scorecard was based on 1 vote and 10 bills in the Senate, and 5 votes and 11 bills in the House. Neither chamber made much headway on positive food policies, instead we saw momentum in the passage of anti-regulatory bills that would roll back basic protections in our food system.

Extreme scores reflect a lack of bipartisanship. This year, 80 House Members and 50 Senate Members received 0 percent, the lowest possible score. The bright spot in a bleak outlook is that 220 members of Congress—140 in the House of Representatives and 40 in the Senate—received perfect scores of 100 percent, including my home-state senator Al Franken and representatives Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison.

Access to healthy, safe and affordable food is not a partisan or even a political issue. It should be a right, not a privilege. It’s our job to hold those who represent us accountable and to encourage action, especially leading up to the reauthorization of the Farm Bill in 2018.

Find out what your senators and representatives scored.

About Food Policy Action

Food Policy Action was established in 2012 through a collaboration of national food policy leaders in order to hold legislators accountable on votes that have an effect on food and farming. Our goal is to change the national dialogue on food policy by educating the public on how elected officials are voting on these issues. Through education and FPA’s Scorecard, more people will be armed with the information they need to advocate for sound food policy and to elect more food policy leaders across the country. Find out more at www.foodpolicyaction.org.