Oregon Democrat lawmakers fight food aid cutbacks

Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Peter DeFazio, along with Sen. Ron Wyden and Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer and Kurt Schrader, pushed the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a letter Wednesday to immediately withdraw a harmful proposed rule that would take food assistance away from 3 million Americans, including 66,000 Oregonians.

Merkley is the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees the USDA, which runs the SNAP program nationwide.

The agency's proposed rule would change the way supplemental food benefits are determined, reducing the number of people who are eligible.