Cuts are coming for food stamps if farm bill is passed, though unclear how deep, By Mary Clare Jalonick (AP), May 8, 2013, Washington Post: “The government’s food stamp program, which helps feed 1 in every 7 America, was one of the few programs exempted from this year’s automatic spending cuts. But now it is likely to get trimmed. Unresolved is by how much. The Democratic chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee is only willing to take roughly one-half of 1 percent, or about $400 million annually, off the top as the panel prepares to move a massive farm bill through committee next week. Her Republican counterpart in the House, also preparing to consider a farm bill next week, would give the program a makeover and cut it by five times that amount…”
Tag: Farm Bill
The Farm Bill and SNAP
- Farm-state members of Congress returning home empty-handed, can’t campaign on farm bill, Associated Press, September 19, 2012, Washington Post: “Farm-state members of Congress have campaigned for decades on the back of farm bills delivering election-season subsidies and other goodies to rural voters. Not this year. The bill is stalled, primarily because House GOP leaders don’t want a noisy fight over food stamps this close to the election. That poses a particular problem for some Republicans in tight races for the Senate or the House who will go home empty-handed when Congress adjourns this week…”
- House GOP punts on farm bill, By Alan Silverleib, September 20, 2012, CNN: “House Republican leaders announced Thursday they will not take action on a new farm bill until after the November elections — a sign of sharp internal GOP divisions on a critical political issue for many members of Congress. ‘We will deal with the farm bill after the election,’ said Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. ‘The current situation that we face is we’ve got people who believe there’s not enough reform in the farm bill that came out of (the House Agriculture) committee, (and) we’ve got others who believe that there’s too much reform in the bill that came out of the committee.’ Boehner indicated GOP leaders do not believe they currently have the votes to pass either a short-term extension or a more comprehensive five-year measure…”
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Republicans blast rise in food stamp rolls, but House leaders stop short of cutting aid, By Bruce Alpert, August 3, 2012, New Orleans Times-Picayune: “Republican conservatives, including Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, and Gov. Bobby Jindal, have criticized the Obama administration for steadily rising food stamp rolls during the past couple of years. But GOP congressional leaders put the kibosh this week on trying to cut the assistance, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, delaying consideration of a new farm bill partly because of disputes about what to do about food stamps. Some conservatives wanted more cuts than the $16 billion over 10 years proposed in the legislation, but Democrats said even the lower amount is too severe when so many Americans are unemployed…”