Articles Tagged with ''SNAP''

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says there is less than a 10% chance that farmers will get more Market Facilitation Program payments this year and that China is sending “signals” it intends to honor its pledges to ramp up purchases of U.S. farm commodities.

The biofuel industry is eagerly anticipating a decision from the Trump administration on future small refinery exemptions this week, while Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue heads to Capitol Hill for a grilling on the Market Facilitation Program, food stamps and other issues.

President Donald Trump’s election-year budget proposes $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, including $25 billion earmarked for rural America, while reprising recommendations for slashing farm programs and nutrition assistance.

The Democratic-controlled House is supporting a multi-state lawsuit aimed at blocking the Trump administration from making it harder for states to exempt able-bodied adults from work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Trade remains the top concern for American agriculture heading into 2020, with looming uncertainty about whether the Chinese will make promised increases in commodity purchases, and whether President Donald Trump will provide another round of trade assistance to U.S. producers. 

Brushing aside an outcry from anti-hunger advocates and congressional Democrats, the Trump administration on Wednesday finalized regulations that will make it harder for states to exempt able-bodied adults from work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

A senior Agriculture Department official rejected House Democrats’ demands that USDA pull back a proposal to reduce income eligibility limits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in many states. 

Congress returns from a two-week break with the deepening impeachment battle clouding prospects for budget and tax issues important to U.S. .agriculture, and there is continued uncertainty about when lawmakers will take up the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement.

The Senate is expected to clear a stopgap spending bill this week that will keep the government operating and trade-aid payments flowing to farmers after the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

Food-insecure households in the United States, defined as those who “had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources,” declined to prerecession levels last year, USDA's Economic Research Service reported Wednesday.