FARM BILL DEBATE SET TO RESUME

With Congress now returned to Washington, the diets of low-income families will be caught up in a debate over deficit reduction. Republicans, alarmed by a rise in food stamp enrollment, are pushing to revamp SNAP and scale down the program. Democrats are resisting the cuts.

 

Even as lawmakers cast the fight in terms of spending, nonpartisan budget analysts and hunger relief advocates warn of a spike in “food insecurity” among Americans who “look like we are fine,” but live on the edge of poverty, skipping meals and rationing food. Nearly 49 million Americans now receive SNAP benefits, at a cost of $80 billion a year.  In an argument increasingly gaining traction with conservatives, Robert Rector, a scholar at the conservative Heritage Foundation, proposes tying benefits to work, much as welfare was revamped in the 1990s. He also advocates mandatory drug testing for recipients.  House Republicans propose cutting $40 billion more from SNAP over the next 10 years by imposing work requirements and eliminating waivers for some able-bodied adults. The cuts would push four million to six million people, including millions of “very low-income unemployed parents” who want to work but cannot find jobs, off the rolls, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

 

Source: New York Times, 9/4/13, Farm Bill