SNAP
A contract is rebid, and 40 percent of SNAP sales at farmers markets are up in the air
Earlier this year, when the USDA changed the vendor that runs its program that allows farmers markets to take SNAP benefits, it set off a chain reaction that could soon prevent thousands of poor people from using those benefits at the markets, reports FERN’s latest piece, published with The Washington Post. <strong>No paywall</strong>
Cotton industry targets Senate limits on farm subsidies
The House and Senate made relatively few changes to the farm program in passing separate versions of the new farm bill. The next step is to reconcile differences in the bills, and the cotton industry's desire to protect its subsidies is just one of a long list of likely flashpoints.
Senate passes bipartisan farm bill with strong defense of SNAP
The Senate set up a confrontation with the House over U.S. food and farm policy for the next five years with a 2-to-1 rejection of punitive work requirements for SNAP recipients on Thursday. Senators defeated a proposal for a 25-hour-a-week work requirement for able-bodied adults shortly before passing their bipartisan farm bill, 86-11.
USDA says SNAP error rate is higher than previously reported
Based on a more accurate reporting process, the USDA estimated an error rate of 6.3 percent nationwide for SNAP in fiscal 2017, compared with the 3.66 percent rate reported in 2014. The error rate is a measure of how often benefits are either overpaid or underpaid.
Senate Ag leaders agree to farm payment limits; is crop insurance next?
The Senate farm bill will clamp down on payments to so-called managers who live in town and exercise little control over farm operations, announced the leaders of the Agriculture Committee on Wednesday. Still to be resolved was a proposal to make the wealthiest farmers pay more for federally subsidized crop insurance.
White House raps Senate farm bill on SNAP work rules
The bipartisan Senate farm bill "misses key opportunities to reform" the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by forgoing tougher work requirements for poor adults who want food stamps, said the White House on Tuesday, pointing to the salient feature of the Republican-written House farm bill.
Farm bill easily clears procedural hurdle in Senate
In a procedural vote, senators indicated strong support on Monday for the bipartisan farm bill written by Senate Agriculture Committee leaders, voting 89-3 to open debate on the $87-billion-a-year legislation.
Razor-thin House victory for GOP package of welfare reform in a farm bill
On its second try and by a two-vote margin, the Republican-controlled House passed the GOP-drafted farm bill on Thursday. The bill imposes stricter work requirements on 7 million people to qualify for food stamps while easing eligibility rules for farm subsidies.
USDA wins food safety, loses SNAP in Trump reorganization
On Thursday, budget director Mick Mulvaney unveiled the federal reorganization plan that President Trump set in motion in his second month in office. Under the proposal, SNAP and WIC would be moved from the USDA to a new agency, the Department of Health and Public Welfare.
As vote nears, House GOP lauds farm bill as welfare reform
Two House Republican leaders praised their party’s five-year farm bill on Wednesday as fruitful welfare reform that will get more people into the workforce. The House could vote on the bill as early as today.
Deadline nears for House attempt to revive farm bill
The electoral circuitry to revive the Republican-written House farm bill this week looks like the mechanism of a Rube Goldberg machine. Republican leaders plan floor votes on two immigration bills, neither certain of passage, to generate support among hardline conservatives for the farm bill. A close vote is expected, just like the roll call that sank the bill a month ago.
Farm bill is cleared for Senate debate with clash possible on payment limits
Thanks to speedy action by the Agriculture Committee, the Senate is on track to pass its five-year farm bill before the end of June, boosting the chances that the Republican-controlled Congress will enact the major legislation before election-year tensions stymie work later this year.
Senate farm bill designed to clear 60-vote hurdle
Roughly 16 months ago, at their first hearing for the 2018 farm bill, Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts and Sen. Debbie Stabenow agreed to write a bipartisan bill that would be enacted on time, a seemingly simple goal that has eluded Congress repeatedly. With a committee vote set for Wednesday on their 1,006-page bill, the two committee leaders say they are on the verge of a major bipartisan victory.
In contrast to House, Senate ag leaders announce no-drama farm bill
The Senate Agriculture Committee will vote next week on a bipartisan farm bill that makes few changes to food stamps, farm supports, and crop insurance, a marked contrast to the decision by House Republicans to pursue welfare reform in their farm bill.
Report: Federal reorganization would move SNAP to ‘welfare’ department
A Trump administration plan to reorganize the federal government would include consolidating food stamps, now run by the USDA, and other social safety net programs at the Department of Health and Human Services, said Politico.
Toiling to get to go on a farm bill that’s status quo
The leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee are treading a surprisingly tortuous path to a bipartisan farm bill that would make no major changes in food stamps, farm supports or crop insurance. They are expected to unveil their package this month, a major advance toward enacting a farm bill before the 2014 law expires on Sept. 30.
Roberts’ farm bill goals: Senate vote in mid-June, no hair on fire
The Senate could vote on the $87 billion-a-year farm bill in mid-June, but the legislation won’t repeat the House’s attempt at major SNAP reform, said Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts on Wednesday.
House quietly aims for farm bill revival by June 22
Four days after defeating the farm bill, the House quietly delayed Speaker Paul Ryan's attempt to revive the bill until June 22, with GOP leaders hoping that hardline Republicans will vote for it the second time. Members of the House Freedom Caucus provided the decisive votes against the farm bill to underline their demand for a roll call on immigration controls. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
House defeats Trump-backed government funding bill
One day after President-elect Donald Trump shot down a stopgap government funding bill, the House defeated a Trump-backed bill written by Republicans to keep the government running until March 14. The GOP bill included $31 billion to buffer the impact in rural America of natural disasters and lower farm income.