U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood is impressed by the scope and scale of Midwest Food Bank’s operation.
On a tour with food bank executive director Michael Swartz on Wednesday, LaHood learned of the north Normal nonprofit’s mission providing groceries and meals to food pantries, disaster relief zones and people experiencing food insecurity.
“We’re very lucky in Central Illinois to have Midwest Food Bank,” LaHood said in an interview with WGLT after the tour. “The benevolence and generosity they provide — in a very quiet way — to so many people that suffer from food insecurity is remarkable.”
The staff of five, newly led by Swartz, the former McLean County Farm Bureau manager, distributes food to more than 2,200 nonprofits monthly with help from thousands of volunteers.
“They are a shining example of the type of organizations we need in our community,” said LaHood, R-Peoria.
The congressman's tour of the facility, he said, served as a reminder of the 1.5 million Illinoisans facing food insecurity and renews his focus on reducing inflation.
“When I talk to my constituents, the high cost of food has gone up and up and up,” he said. “When you have that, it affects people, particularly our lower income people and our middle class people. They’re living paycheck to paycheck. When inflation goes up, that affects food.”
Inflation has eased since spiking in 2022, but relatively high grocery prices continue to up the demand for services Midwest Food Bank provides. Last year, families receiving assistance from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] also saw a reduction in their benefits after a temporary boost during the pandemic.
Farm bill and federal budget
SNAP and other federal food assistance programs are funded by a trillion-dollar farm bill that remains in flux as a year-long extension of the 2018 bill is due to expire on Sept. 30. LaHood, who represents one of the country’s largest ag producing districts, said politics have gotten in the way of bringing a new farm bill to the finish line.
“Ag is the number one industry in the state of Illinois,” he said. “The farm bill is essential to give farmers certainty, consistency — to make sure we’re working with them so they can be the best stewards of the land.”
LaHood further points to the farm bill’s role deciding policies on ethanol and trade, and with fewer and fewer U.S. representatives serving rural districts, negotiations have taken a back burner to other issues. The price of SNAP funding and other food safety nets have been one sticking point; LaHood says he supports a current version that has yet to reach the House floor, and is unlikely to pass before November’s presidential election.
Some Republican lawmakers have signaled a move to push the farm bill and other key legislation past the election, hoping to widen their majority in the House of Representatives. But another looming deadline will require congress to agree on a federal spending plan or another continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown.
“We don’t have a very good track record of passing things by the start of the fiscal budget,” LaHood said. “I will say, the House has passed eight of our appropriations bills. We’ve sent them over to the Senate; the Senate hasn’t done anything on it. I will argue that the House Republicans are doing their job.”
International affairs
As news broke that six hostages abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, had been killed, including Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Israelis flooded the streets, placing pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war with Hamas. President Joe Biden has made it a focus of the remainder of his administration to secure a cease-fire.
LaHood agrees a cease-fire is needed, but cautions against the United States being heavy handed in dictating what other countries should do.
“The Israelis are a democracy,” he said. “They elect their leader. In my view, their government know best how to deal with Hamas. I’m going to leave it to the Israelis to do that.”
Similarly, LaHood hopes for increased involvement from European allies in supporting Ukraine following the latest Russian strike that killed dozens of people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized the U.S. for being too slow in making good on its promises to supply military aid fast enough, particularly as the Ukrainian military launched a cross-border invasion of Russia in early August.
“We’re reaching a critical point in that battle,” said LaHood. “The decisions that need to be made on the war front should involve our European allies, particularly the Germans, and the French, and the Great Brits, who have much more at stake than the U.S. does. I don’t think the U.S. should be dictating those military decisions … but we need to do everything we can to equip Zelenskyy to win.”
Guns
LaHood is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights and maintains states should decide gun legislation. He previously voted against congressional moves to restrict sales of semiautomatic weapons and impose universal background checks. The latter has been proposed as one method to curb interstate gun sales, such as the pistol used in a May murder-suicide in LaHood’s district.
“I’ve strongly supported our current gun laws on the books,” he said, including federal restrictions on gun ownership for convicted felons, domestic abusers and those diagnosed with a mental illness.
“I’ve also looked at red flag laws and the applicability of those,” said LaHood. “I think there’s some value to that that should be left up to the states to decide on how that’s done.”
LaHood voted against the first gun safety legislation signed into law in 30 years, which incentivizes states adopting red flag laws, among other regulations.
Running his own race
LaHood is running for his fifth term in Congress. He last won the 16th District in 2022 when a new congressional map forced LaHood and former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger into the same district. Kinzinger did not run for re-election, leaving LaHood unopposed. Attorney Scott Summers is competing in the 16th District in November as a write-in candidate.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump seemed to reverse course on abortion last week, leaving evangelical voters alarmed he was shifting from hardline, pro-life views promised to voters and evident in his first term as president. The next day, he said he’d vote no on a ballot referendum in his home state aimed at removing a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
“I’m not running for president; I’m running for re-election to Congress,” LaHood said. “I’m focused on that… I’m not concerned about [Trump’s] position on abortion.”
