Kansas Ag Connection - Farm Bill with SNAP Restrictions Passes House Narrowly

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Farm Bill with SNAP Restrictions Passes House Narrowly
Kansas Ag Connection - 06/22/2018

On Thursday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the 2018 farm bill, H.R. 2, which included controversial changes to food assistance programs. The Farm Bill is the main agricultural and food policy guide for the country. It provides funding for a number of programs and regulations in the food and agriculture industries.

The party-line vote was 213-211. No Democrats voted for the bill, and 20 Republicans voted against it. The same bill failed in May, when 30 Republicans voted against the legislation.

The most controversial element of the bill was a provision to change the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, previously called food stamps.

The farm bill would tighten restrictions on eligibility for SNAP. It would require people between the ages of 18 and 59 who receive SNAP to either have a job or participate in a job training program for 20 hours per week. Adults with disabilities or young dependents are exempted from this requirement.

Penalties for not complying with work requirements increase under the bill, from one month ineligibility to one year for a first violation, and from three months to three years for a second violation.

When the farm bill was being discussed in April, representatives from the U.S. bishops conference, Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Rural Life, and the National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul wrote a letter to leaders of the Congressional Agriculture Committee.

"Efforts to improve state workforce training programs by providing case-management, streamlining workforce programs, providing increased training slots and setting minimum standards are welcomed," they said.

"However, the new workforce training program appears to lack sufficient investment to meet the additional demand for meaningful job training and skill building that will be generated by the new requirements," they said in the April letter. The letter noted that the majority of SNAP recipients currently work.

"Moreover, rural communities may find compliance especially challenging given that job training programs are often located far away, and there is insufficient access to transportation," the letter said.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said the passage of the farm bill was a step "moving toward a poverty-fighting system," where Americans will be able to move out of a cycle of poverty.

"This is a big deal," said Ryan in a statement published on his website.

Ryan referred to the SNAP reforms as "critical," saying they will "close the skills gap, better equip our workforce, and encourage people to move from welfare to work."

"These reforms will return agency to people, rather than keeping it in government, empowering individuals to reach their full potential and make the most of their lives."

U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, congratulated the passage. "I look forward to working with him and his colleagues in conference once the Senate passes our Farm Bill. Our farmers and ranchers need certainty and predictability. They are counting on us."

President Donald Trump, posting on Twitter, said that he was "so happy to see work requirements included" in the version of the bill that passed the House of Representatives.

"Big win for the farmers," said Trump.

The bill now moves on to the Senate, where a bipartisan compromise bill is expected to be debated next week.

The Kansas Corn Growers Association, in a media release, stated it was pleased to see all four Kansas representatives voting in favor of H.R.2, the Farm Bill today. The U.S. House of Representative passed the bill 233 to 191. KCGA was disappointed in mid-May when the House failed to pass the Farm Bill. Today's passage is a key step toward passage of a new farm bill, according to Kansas Corn Growers Association President Ken McCauley, White Cloud.

"It took a couple of tries, but this is a big step toward passing a farm bill this summer, and our congressional delegation helped to make it happen, especially Congressman Marshall who serves on the House Ag Committee," McCauley said. "Our farmers need the stability and certainty that passage of the Farm Bill would offer, especially in these uncertain times in agriculture. We hope for quick passage of the Senate version of the farm bill so a conference committee can put together a final bill that's acceptable to farmers and can pass both the House and Senate before it expires in September."

KCGA's top priorities in the 2018 Farm Bill is to protect and preserve a strong and viable crop insurance program as well as the safety net programs which are important to farmers, especially at a time when the farm economy is experiencing a major downturn.

National Farmers Union (NFU), which stood in opposition to the current form of the bill, is calling for continued improvement of the bill throughout the conference committee process that will occur should the U.S. Senate approve its version of the farm bill.

NFU President Roger Johnson said, "Farmers Union is disappointed by many components of the House's version of the 2018 Farm Bill. Family farmers and consumers alike require strong safety nets, farm sustainability measures, and accessible markets. The need is especially pronounced as farmers struggle amidst a prolonged downturn in the farm economy and significant market volatility as a result of tensions with international trading partners. We stand ready to work with members of Congress throughout the conference process to improve this legislation to meet the needs of family farmers and our food system."

American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall called passage of the House farm bill a big win for America's farmers.

"As crafted by Chairman Conaway, this bill recognizes what is working well, but it also makes much-needed improvements in risk management and crop insurance programs at a time when farm-income levels have slumped to decade lows," Duvall said. "This would not have been possible had it not been for Speaker Ryan making the farm bill a congressional priority, and for all the hard work invested in the process by Chairman Conaway and other members of the House Agriculture Committee."

Ag-friendly Immigration Reform legislation, used as a bargaining chip by the Freedom Caucus to earn their support of the 2018 House farm bill, was rejected, 193-231 shortly before the farm bill vote. The so-called Goodlatte immigration bill (HR 4760), which would have included a guest worker provision for agriculture, was one of two immigration reform proposals considered.

AFBF board of directors voted unanimously to support House passage of H.R. 4760, based on the strength of agricultural labor provisions included in the legislation just hours before the House vote.

Another immigration package (HR 6136), was viewed in some political sectors as either a compromise or a capitulation to President Donald Trump's insistence on a border wall at an estimated cost of $23 billion and budget cuts to legal immigration programs.

The package reportedly would have given legal status to 800,000 immigrants who came into the country as children, but contained no provisions for providing much-needed reforms to the H2A Agricultural Seasonal Guestworker.

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