Brandon Lipps, who helped engineer $8.6 billion in food stamp cuts in the 2014 farm law, is the new administrator of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, which oversees food stamps, school lunch and other public nutrition programs. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the appointment of Lipps and two senior nutrition officials a day ahead of a trip, scheduled for today, to a summer meal site for school-aged children.
From March 2011-July 2014, Lipps was a lawyer for the House Agriculture Committee. “While there, he led the nutrition policy team in developing the first reforms to, and fiscal savings from, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) since the welfare reforms of 1996,” said USDA. Since July 2014, Lipps has been chief of staff for the chancellor of the Texas Tech University system.
The savings were generated by requiring states to pay at least $20 a year in energy assistance to a household before USDA would increase food stamp benefits for the household. Proponents said 16 states were “gaming” USDA by providing nominal aid toward heating and cooling expenses in order to trigger larger food stamp allotments. The CBO estimated 850,000 households would lose roughly $90 a month under the 2014 law, or $8.6 billion over 10 years. Defenders said the payments went to people who did not directly receive a utility bill, such as occupants of an apartment building.
Maggie Lyons will be chief of staff and Kailee Tkacz will be policy advisor for Lipps, said Perdue. “I have no doubt that Brandon, Maggie, and Kailee will help further our mission of feeding the world and making decisions in our nutrition programs that are science-based and data-driven.” Previously, Lyons was a lobbyist for the National Grocers Association and Tkacz worked for the Corn Refiners Association.