Items Tagged with 'SNAP'

Leaders of the House and Senate Ag committees announced dueling plans for a new farm bill as the partisan impasse appeared to deepen ahead of the House panel’s planned votes on May 23. House Ag Chairman Glenn Thompson released a broad summary of his planned legislation, and his Senate counterpart, Debbie Stabenow, followed with a much more detailed section-by-section summary of her draft bill.

The top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee on Friday accused the panel’s majority Republicans of “abandoning bipartisanship” to push through a farm bill next month that will include restrictions on nutrition assistance and the Commodity Credit Corporation that are unacceptable to Democrats.

House Democrats plotted their next steps on the farm bill after meeting Thursday to debate a brief summary of the latest GOP proposal for the legislation.

Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee are offering to advance some Democratic policy priorities on issues ranging from nutrition assistance to rural community aid in a bid to win bipartisan support for a new farm bill.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson said Tuesday night he plans to move a bipartisan farm bill through the panel next month and that he has identified a way to pay for changes to commodity programs that have been sought by ag groups.

USDA has finalized changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children Tuesday that aim to boost fruit and vegetable consumption but include cuts to milk and dairy. 

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., doubled down Monday on her warning that GOP attempts to fund the farm bill through a reduction in projected spending on nutrition assistance would fracture the bipartisan, urban-rural coalition needed to pass the farm bill.