FARM BILL UPDATE

Farm bill negotiators made major progress toward a deal on Wednesday. Both sides made important concessions during a meeting of the House and Senate Agriculture committees’ leaders. The Senate agreed to greater food stamp savings — albeit still far short of the $40 billion in 10 years cuts approved by the House in September. The largest new savings would come from a crackdown on what many see as states’ abusive practice under “heat-and-eat.” Some states distribute only token amounts of low-income fuel assistance — sometimes as little as $1a year —to SNAP recipients, thereby qualifying them for a standard utility deduction to leverage significantly higher food stamp benefits. Virtually all of the $4 billion in SNAP savings in the Senate bill come from requiring states to distribute at least $10 in such fuel aid to qualify for the utility allowance. The compromise now would set a $20 threshold, as proposed by the House, which could double the Senate’s savings. Also under discussion are a limited number of pilot programs to test new approaches to train unemployed food stamp recipients and move them into the workforce.

 

Source: Politico, 12/5/13, Farm Bill