SNAP
Farm bill deadlock raises chances of short-term extension
Congress could adjourn for this year without enacting a new farm bill because of the Senate vs. House standoff over SNAP, said Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, one of two senators on Tuesday to suggest an extension of the farm law that expired at the start of this week. President Trump has backed House Republicans in demanding stronger work requirements on a larger number of food stamp recipients.
Conaway blames Senate as farm law lapses
Two days after farm bill negotiators declared unity in working together on the 2018 farm bill, the House author of the most controversial proposal on the table — stricter work requirements for food stamp recipients — attacked Senate negotiators as weak-willed.
Farm bill, just another in a roster of disappointments?
Senate and House negotiators tacitly acknowledged on Wednesday that the 2018 farm bill will be late, due to intractable disagreements. The delay could add the bill to a growing list of agricultural disappointments.
If Congress misses farm-bill deadline, how long will it take to finish the job?
Barring a dramatic breakthrough, farm-state lawmakers will miss their target of enacting the 2018 farm bill in the next six days, according to two of the Senate and House negotiators charged with finding a compromise. SNAP, specifically House Republicans' demands for stricter work requirements for food-stamp recipients, is the major obstacle for the conferees, but there are differences across all sections of the $87-billion-a-year legislation.
Stricter SNAP work requirement paramount in farm bill, say free-market proponents
There is little point in writing a compromise version of the House and Senate farm bills if it does not include stronger work requirements for food stamp recipients, said analysts from think tanks favoring free enterprise and members of a group of state officials that promotes self-reliance.
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.
Rural poverty rate drops twice as fast as U.S. average, still high
Rural incomes are up and the rural poverty rate is down, dropping twice as fast as the U.S. average, said the Census Bureau on Wednesday in its annual report on income and poverty.
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.
Food insecurity rates continue to fall, USDA report finds
National food insecurity continued to decline in 2017, according to a new report from the Department of Agriculture, and now affects 11.8 percent of U.S. households, down from 12.3 percent in 2016.
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.
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.
Districts of House farm bill conferees draw over $9 billion in food and farm aid
A new analysis of USDA data by the Daily Yonder found that the districts of the 47 members of the House of Representatives who are serving on the farm bill conference committee receive over $9 billion in food and farm aid through nutrition programs and farm payments. The conferees will work to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the farm bill over the coming weeks.
Pencil in September 5 for farm bill meeting
The Senate has a busy schedule for next month but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday there will be time to pass a final version of the 2018 farm bill. Farm bill negotiators are expected to meet on September 5, according to Capitol Hill sources, although the official line is, "We haven't announced a date yet."
Permanent fix needed for SNAP purchases at farmers markets
Far more than farmer revenue is at stake in the threatened loss of SNAP sales at 40 percent of U.S. farmers markets, said the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition on Monday. "We believe that farmers’ ability to serve low-income families is not just important for their bottom line but also critical to genuinely healthy food systems," said the grassroots alliance in calling for a long-term solution that assures food stamp recipients can use their EBT cards to buy fresh foods at farmers markets.