Farm bill discussions in the House have caught a snag over food stamp eligibility requirements.
Republicans want a work requirement for able bodies people, without dependents, to receive government food aid.
The proposal is causing Collin Peterson (D-MN 7th District), the top House Ag Democrat, to balk. It is likely the requirements will not play out well in the Senate Ag Committee either.
“The testimony we heard last Congress – while there are some areas for improvement, SNAP works. We heard testimony opposing efforts to block granting SNAP and on the importance of keeping SNAP within the farm bill,” Peterson said. “Those of us who have been around for awhile know this is a complicated program, and I would urge members to keep that in mind as we begin work on the farm bill.”
The bill needs to start moving forward in April. Otherwise, it will be too late for regular order legislation and may require an extension of the current bill.
Peterson issued a statement after sharing details with other Democrats panelists. He said his members are ?unanimous in their opposition? to what Peterson calls ?the extreme, partisan policies? of the majority. Peterson added, in an ominous note, that ?this opposition will not change.? The statement followed earlier warnings from Peterson about changing SNAP.
Republicans, led by Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX), see a shrinking budget for farm programs. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is by far the largest program in the farm bill.
“Going budget neutral, obviously there will be no new funds,” Conaway said. “We’ll have to come to some grips with resetting priorities which are always difficult and hard to do, but not impossible. We need to get this work started.”
Conaway planned to roll out a farm bill draft this week, and is still working to get a bill out this month.
Peterson told farm media the SNAP proposal is similar to what killed the current farm bill when it came to the House floor in 2013. More modest Senate SNAP cuts prevailed.
Senate Ag Chair Pat Roberts plans to start work on his bill next month.
