SNAP
Boost SNAP benefits by 15 percent to weather coronavirus, says think tank
Just as lawmakers temporarily increased food stamp benefits during the Great Recession of 2008-09, Congress should boost benefits to help poor families cope with the economic downturn that is accompanying efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, said the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on Thursday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Covid-19 relief bill suspends SNAP work and training requirements
The Senate is expected to vote this week on the House-passed Covid-19 relief bill that suspends work and job-training requirement for SNAP recipients, a step that could preserve benefits for hundreds of thousands of people. "I believe the vast majority of Senators in both parties will agree we should act swiftly to secure relief for American workers, families, and small businesses," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over the weekend.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
More than $1 billion for public nutrition in COVID-19 bill
The government would provide lunch money for low-income children shut out of school meals by COVID-19 closures under the "families first" bill proposed by House Democrats. The bill would provide an additional $1 billion for other public nutrition programs. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Labor shortages, SNAP cuts, trade deals: How could coronavirus affect our food supply chain?
Although U.S. shoppers concerned about the coronavirus pandemic have largely emptied stores of paper products and household cleaning supplies, so far most other grocery aisles remain stocked. Still, as the virus spreads across the U.S., it could expose other weaknesses in our food supply chain, experts say. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
SNAP eligibility rules will tighten despite coronavirus outbreak
At the same time he raised the possibility of pandemic benefits, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Tuesday that stricter SNAP time limits will take effect, as scheduled, on April 1 for able-bodied adults. House Democrats have suggested higher benefits and broader SNAP availability to carry low-income workers through quarantines and economic disruptions due to the new coronavirus.
House Ag chair Peterson, a GOP target, runs for re-election
Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, a conservative Democrat in a Republican-leaning district, announced he would seek re-election in November, saying he was worried rural America is being left behind. President Trump has endorsed a Republican challenger against Peterson, who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, in a contest that is regarded as a toss-up.
States are told to expand job training for SNAP recipients
The Trump administration said on Thursday that state agencies operating SNAP must expand their job-training activities for food stamp recipients as a way to help them earn more. The proposal was unveiled on the same day as a federal court hearing on a lawsuit to block a USDA regulation, set to take effect April 1, that ends SNAP benefits for 700,000 adults.
Chance of trade war payments ‘less than 10 percent’
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the odds of a multibillion-dollar round of trade war payments to farmers this year are “less than 10 percent,” although a senior lawmaker said the payments may be "absolutely vital" for survival in the Farm Belt. China will turn to the U.S. market for soybeans “late this spring, this summer,” Perdue predicted during a House Agriculture hearing on Wednesday.
‘Public charge’ rule chills nutrition program enrollment among immigrants
Trump proposals for SNAP cuts add up to $230 billion, says think tank
White House renews call for broader work rules for SNAP
The Trump administration proposed a 29 percent cut in food stamps on Monday, to be achieved by requiring more recipients to work at least 20 hours a week and by providing some benefits in the form of a box of food instead of letting people buy food themselves at grocery stores. The White House also asked Congress for stricter rules for access to free meals for low-income children at public schools.
USDA has chronic data issues, experts say
White House ‘public charge’ rule cleared for now by Supreme Court
States ask federal court to stop Trump limits on food stamps
A Trump administration regulation that would eliminate food stamps for 688,000 people is being challenged in U.S. district court by 14 states and the District of Columbia. Their lawsuit, filed on Thursday in Washington, asks for the rule to be overturned as unlawful and for an injunction to keep it from taking effect on April 1.
Digital shoppers face a barrage of pop-ups and promos for unhealthy food
Within a few years, the average U.S. household will spend $850 annually on food and beverage purchases over the internet, according to an estimate by Nielsen and the Food Marketing Institute. On Wednesday, a consumer group warned that digital grocers “are generally undermining Americans’ efforts to eat well” by flooding shoppers with pop-up ads and promotions for junk food.
Unrelenting opposition to SNAP cuts
Before leaving Washington for the holidays, more than a dozen House Democrats stood in front of the USDA headquarters on the Mall to register their opposition to Trump administration regulations that would eliminate food stamps for 3.7 million people. Rules Committee chairman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, one of the foremost defenders of SNAP, raised the possibility of a congressional lawsuit against the cuts.
House revives biodiesel tax credit two years after it expired
Congress is on the verge of retroactive restoration of the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit, a result of the last-minute inclusion of a package of tax breaks in a mammoth government funding bill. The House passed the bill on Tuesday, and the Senate is expected to approve it by the end of the week.
Government funding bill has $1.5 billion for ag disaster relief
The House will vote as early as Tuesday on a mammoth government funding bill that allots an additional $1.5 billion for disaster relief for agriculture and rejects the 25 percent cut in SNAP benefits proposed by President Trump. The disaster funding is a 50 percent increase from $3.1 billion appropriated in June to help producers hit by hurricanes, wildfires, volcanoes, freezes and floods.