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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Monday, September 02, 2024
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson is leaving the door open to trying to tighten SNAP eligibility rules in the farm bill if Republicans fail to get a debt-limit deal with President Joe Biden to expand the program’s work requirements.
Farm groups are calling for Agriculture Department loan program payment rates to be increased in the upcoming farm bill, while agency officials look at other ways to make the programs more accessible and flexible for producers.
House Republicans will try to pass a plan to raise the debt ceiling that would cut domestic spending, expand SNAP work requirements and gut the biofuel and clean energy tax incentives that are the centerpiece of President Joe Biden climate policy.
Senate Republican Whip John Thune sees expanding work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as a way to cut the cost of the nutrition title in a new farm bill.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said Wednesday the debate over SNAP work requirements should take place during the farm bill debate, not as an issue for negotiations over the government’s debt ceiling.
In the coming weeks, House Republicans are pushing the debt ceiling debate front and center and want to include changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements in their proposal. Industry sources say the move could push back an already delayed 2023 farm bill negotiation timeline, while Democratic members see it as a non-starter.
Senate Agriculture Committee staff are going through requests from 98 senators detailing what they want to see in the farm bill as the committee works to get a bill ready this year.