A new analysis of USDA data by the Daily Yonder found that the districts of the 47 members of the House of Representatives who are serving on the farm bill conference committee receive over $9 billion in food and farm aid through nutrition programs and farm payments. The conferees will work to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the farm bill over the coming weeks.
“The average member of Congress who sits on the farm-bill conference committee has an estimated 36,000 constituents enrolled in the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program,” who draw an average of $142 million in benefits to each congressional district, the analysis reads. “Each of those congressional districts also had an average of 4,900 farmers who participated in the government-subsidized crop insurance program,” which draw an average of $55 million in payments.
The member of the committee with the district that receives the most SNAP benefits is Jim Costa of California, whose district has 27 percent of households receiving SNAP, totaling over $284 million in benefits, according to 2015 USDA data. The member of the committee with the district that receives the highest amount of farm payments is Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, whose district has 24,790 farms that received a total of nearly $382 million in payments, according to data from the 2012 Agriculture Census.
Eight of the top ten districts that receive farm payments are represented by Republicans, the analysis found, whereas six of the top ten districts for receiving SNAP benefits are represented by Democrats.
The farm bill conference committee is comprised of 47 Representatives and nine Senators. The committee is majority Republican. The conferees will navigate the highly divisive issue of work requirements for SNAP benefits, which is a core element of the House version of the farm bill.