2018 farm bill
Cities protest farm bill ban on local pesticide restrictions
In a letter to House and Senate ag leaders, officials from 60 U.S. cities have protested a House farm bill provision that would prohibit them from setting local pesticide restrictions that are tougher than the federal government’s.
Trump: SNAP work requirements ‘are imperative’
Farm bill negotiators are divided over the House Republican proposal for stronger work requirements for food stamp recipients, said Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts on Thursday, acknowledging that Congress may miss an informal Sept. 30 deadline for passing the bill.
Perdue addresses farmer fly-in, talks trade and SNAP work requirements
In a 15-minute address to hundreds of members of the National Farmers Union, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue emphasized the need for a strong farm safety net and diverse trade partners for U.S. agricultural producers.
Speaker Ryan says SNAP work requirement vital for U.S. growth
With time short for agreement on the farm bill, House Republicans are insisting on a stronger work requirement as a condition of eligibility for SNAP. Over the weekend, House Speaker Paul Ryan said, "[H]aving a work requirement in food stamps, having an education requirement in food stamps, is the best possible way" to put Americans to work.
Two SNAP proposals could cut enrollment by 8 percent, say researchers
A nonpartisan research group says that two of the lesser-known provisions at issue during Senate-House negotiations over the 2018 farm bill could reduce food stamp enrollment by 8 percent. Those affected would include large numbers of the elderly, children, and the disabled.
While lawmakers laud compromise, Trump urges SNAP work requirements
Farm bill negotiators spoke smilingly of comity and compromise while budging not an inch on major issues such as SNAP work requirements on Wednesday during their first, and possibly last, public meeting.
Farm bill on parade: ‘Let the games begin’
When House and Senate negotiators sit down to reconcile differences between legislation, as the 56 farm bill conferees are scheduled to do on Wednesday, there are few formal rules to govern their work. "It is most common that a conference committee holds a single public meeting, sometimes for members to offer opening statements only," says one guide. Illinois Rep. Ed Madigan probably set the record for brevity with an opening statement of four words on the 1990 farm bill: "Let the games begin."
House Democrats want farm bill with stronger stewardship, no SNAP cuts
In a letter to the “big four” farm bill negotiators, 107 House Democrats called for stronger conservation programs in the final version of the bill and said they opposed provisions that would weaken pesticide regulation, interfere with state regulation of agricultural trade, or fundamentally alter the food stamp program.
Senators warn ‘anti-environment’ riders may sink farm bill
If farm bill negotiators allow “anti-environment policy riders” into the bill’s final version, they can expect protracted debate and possible defeat of the panoramic legislation, said 38 Democratic senators on Thursday.
Farm bill negotiators, set to meet Sept. 5, aim for speedy resolution
Almost as soon as Congress reconvenes after the Labor Day weekend, the nearly six dozen farm bill negotiators will hold their first public meeting, announced the leaders of the Senate and House Agriculture committees.
Top Republicans in House and Senate press on SNAP work requirements
A small group of negotiators will write the final version of the $87-billion-a-year farm bill in the weeks ahead, and they are under pressure from high-ranking conservatives in Congress to require millions of people to work at least 20 hours a week to qualify for food stamps. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise said over the weekend that work requirements are "really important" in a booming economy.
Proposed SNAP changes ‘ignore participants’ dignity,’ says think tank
As House and Senate farm bill conferees try to resolve their differences over SNAP, the Berkeley Food Institute published a policy brief that shows how some proposed changes to the program would undermine the very things that make SNAP successful.
Public health experts call on farm bill conferees to reject SNAP work requirements
More than 200 health and medical professionals from across the country sent a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate agriculture committees urging the farm bill conferees to reject the House bill’s expansion of SNAP work requirements.
Farm bill negotiators prodded to resolve SNAP work rules
With the Senate returning early from its August recess, a panorama of farm, conservation, ag retailer, insurer, lender and antihunger groups said on Monday that urban and rural America needs prompt passage of the 2018 farm bill. The groups did not mention by name the major issue facing farm bill negotiators – the House proposal for broader work requirements for SNAP recipients – but analysts say the House plan could be a legislative poison pill.
Representative urges colleagues to fight an ‘unconscionable’ House farm bill
Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, a longtime champion of nutrition programs and a farm bill conferee, urged his colleagues not to support the House bill’s language around nutrition programs. “It is vital that we stand strong and that we side with the Senate … with regard to their language in the nutrition title,” he said in an interview on Thursday with the Food Research and Action Center.
Senate names high-power team for farm bill negotiations
When farm bill negotiators get down to business, the 47 House "conferees" will face an unusually big-caliber Senate team, with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as one of its members, a rare role for the leader. Senate Agriculture Committee leaders, in cheering the formal appointment of their nine negotiators, used "bipartisan" to describe their approach and take a swipe at the Republican-written House farm bill and its proposal to require more people to work 20 hours a week to qualify for food stamps.
How’s organic faring in the farm bill?
In FERN's latest audio report, reporter Barry Yeoman delves into the fast-growing organic food sector and explores how organic agriculture is faring in the 2018 farm bill. The piece was produced for Nebraska Public Media's "On the Table" Podcast. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
McConnell aims for final farm bill vote ‘shortly after’ Labor Day
Congress could send the final version of the 2018 farm bill to President Trump for enactment in early September, a little over a month from now, if negotiators live up to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's outline. Work requirements for SNAP recipients will be the crucial issue; the House and Senate are polar opposites on the question.
Farmers to get $10 billion in economic assistance
President Biden signed a stop-gap government funding bill over the weekend that calls for speedy payment of $10 billion to farmers to buffer lower commodity prices and high production costs. Congress voted to fund the government through March 14 after a fight that showed the limits of President-elect Trump's control over Republican lawmakers.