In a marked contrast to the polarized House, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted unanimously on Thursday for larger spending on domestic and international food assistance. Also unlike the House, the bill did not propose new restrictions on SNAP eligibility, a key issue in the debt limit bill enacted early this month.
Appropriators spent less than 10 minutes discussing the annual USDA-FDA funding bill after approving it on a 28-0 roll call; the committee traditionally votes on its bills before consideration of amendments. “A good bipartisan bill,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, chairman of the subcommittee that oversees USDA and FDA spending. His Republican counterpart, Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, said, “We put together a solid bill here.”
The bill allotted $6.3 billion for WIC, $1.8 billion for hunger relief through the Food for Peace program, and $248 million for the McGovern-Dole international school food program. The amounts were in line with White House requests, unlike a decision by House Republicans to hold spending at fiscal 2022 levels for many programs.
“We are determined to continue working together in a bipartisan manner to craft serious funding bills that can be signed into law,” said Senate Appropriations chair Patty Murray and Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the senior Republican on the committee, in a statement afterward.
Members of the House Appropriations Committee approved their version of the USDA-FDA bill on a party-line 34-27 vote a week ago at the end of a session that spanned nearly eight hours. The bill was studded with politically sharp-edged provisions, among them a ban on over-the-counter sale of mifepristone, used in chemical abortions; broader application of a 90-day limit on SNAP benefits; elimination of a $2 billion fund for financially distressed farmers; prohibition of new programs on racial equity; restrictions of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s access to a $30-billion reserve; and a halt of work on three regulations intended to give producers more muscle in livestock marketing.
Under the House bill, WIC would receive $6 billion in the new fiscal year, Food for Peace, $1.74 billion, and McGovern-Dole, $240 million. Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, the Republican manager of the bill, thwarted a Democratic effort to increase WIC funding to $6.3 billion. He said $6 billion was sufficient to meet the WIC caseload. The National WIC Association said fruit and vegetable benefits would be cut by $183 million with the smaller allocation.
The debt limit bill expanded the age range for so-called ABAWDs — able-bodied adults without dependents — who must work at least 80 hours a month to receive SNAP benefits for more than 90 days in a three-year period. The time limit will apply to ABAWDs ages 18-55. It used to be 18-50 years.
Similar language was included in the House version of the USDA-FDA bill. Another rider directs the USDA to conduct a three-year test of limiting SNAP purchases by some recipients to “only nutrient-dense foods and beverages.”
Murray sparked applause in the Senate hearing room when she noted that this year is the first time women are leading the Senate Appropriations Committee. The House Appropriations Committee also is led by women. Murray said the “markup” session on Thursday also was the first to be televised.
A summary of the USDA-FDA bill by Senate Democrats is here.
A bill summary by Republicans is here.