The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee is sticking to his goal of gaining committee approval of the new farm bill by the end of this month — while also winning bipartisan support for it. To do that, Texas Rep. Michael Conaway is “working closely” with Democratic members of the committee who oppose his plans to tighten eligibility rules for food stamps, said a spokeswoman.
The lead Democrat on the committee, Collin Peterson of Minnesota, said the two sides were at an impasse after Conaway disclosed his food stamp proposals, which would reduce enrollment by 20 percent and make more people subject to a 90-day limit on benefits unless they work at least 20 hours a week. Food stamps account for three-fourths of farm bill spending. A Peterson aide said that “discussions are ongoing” between Conaway and the Minnesotan.
Conaway reportedly wants to hold a vote on the farm bill on March 20.
In 2013, the House defeated a farm bill for the first time when conservative Republicans demanded the largest cuts in food stamps in a generation. The House eventually passed a “farm only” bill and a separate bill dealing with food stamps. A small group of House and Senate negotiators wrote a final version of the bill in early 2014 that restored the pieces into a whole.
At a Bipartisan Policy Center discussion of potential food stamp reforms, two former agriculture secretaries, Republican Ann Veneman and Democrat Dan Glickman, said that splitting the farm bill in two — mentioned as a possibility again for this year — was a recipe for trouble. “It is going to be very difficult to pass a farm bill” with that approach, said Veneman. Glickman said it “could be the death knell of both of them.” A rural-urban coalition traditionally carries the farm bill to passage.