A three-month extension of higher SNAP benefits and $4 billion in debt relief for minority farmers are in the hands of the Senate following a 219-212 vote by the House over the weekend. “We are one step closer,” said President Biden, who used the phrase to describe elements of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, from funds for coronavirus vaccinations and unemployment benefits to “helping millions of Americans feed their families.”
“Now the bill moves to the United States Senate, where I hope it will receive quick action,” said Biden at the White House on Saturday. “We have no time to waste.” Biden and his wife visited the Houston Food Bank, the largest in the country, on Friday while touring storm damage in Texas.
Some $16.1 billion would be spent on food and agriculture as part of the bill, including an extension, to Sept. 30, of the temporary 15-percent increase in SNAP benefits that took effect in January. The three-month extension would cost $3.5 billion. About 43 million people receive food stamps.
A provision backed by the administration would forgive debts owed by socially disadvantaged farmers on loans made directly by USDA or by private lenders with a USDA guarantee of repayment. The farmers, a group that includes Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian or Pacific Islanders, would receive additional money, equal to 20 percent of their outstanding loan obligations, to cover the cost of taxes that would accompany debt relief.
House Agriculture chairman David Scott said minority farmers “did not proportionately benefit from the tens of billions of dollars in Covid relief paid out to farmers last year.” The USDA disbursed $23 billion in pandemic relief payments in 2020, in addition to trade-war payments and traditional crop subsidies.
Also in the bill were $3.6 billion for food donations, loans and grants to small food processors and protective equipment for workers; $1 billion to improve land access, address “heirs property” issue, and provide legal aid to socially disadvantaged farmers; $1 billion for nutrition assistance for U.S. territories; and $500 million for rural health care.
The largest U.S. farmers get the lion’s share of USDA payments, said the Environmental Working Group, which called for the end of stopgap subsidies. The pandemic payments “should not be renewed unless targeted to small farmers in need,” it said last week.
During his visit to Texas, Biden stopped at the cavernous warehouse of the Houston Food Bank, which serves more than 1.1 million people in 18 counties in southeastern Texas through a network of 1,500 community partners.
“Incredible,” replied Biden when asked for his impression. “Amazing. It’s absolutely amazing and we could do so much more.”
First Lady Jill Biden and Cecilia Abbott, wife of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, arrived at the food bank an hour before the president. We’re here to help, so put us to work,” said the First Lady. They joined volunteers in filling bags for the Backpack Buddy program for school children, then packed meals for elderly Texans who receive a monthly box through a USDA program.