Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 12/20/17

2018 may be the year of the farm bill, but the bickering is in full swing as we ride out the final days of 2017. When House Republicans released their sweeping $81 billion disaster bill late Monday - a package aimed at helping the country recover from a truly awful year of hurricanes and fires - few noticed right away that the 184-page bill contained language to help cotton and dairy farmers.

It's a move that could certainly make the farm bill process easier by giving Congress a head start on two of the thorniest issues. The disaster aid package contains something cotton growers have long asked for: access to the Price Loss Coverage program. It also throws a bone to dairy farmers by lifting the $20 million annual cap on livestock insurance programs. But that's when truly fierce criticism started to fill inboxes across the Beltway. 

Red alert from the right: Conservative groups were incensed. The Heritage Foundation called the tactics "shameful" and slammed it as just expanding handouts to cotton growers. Taxpayers for Common Sense issued a blistering and lengthy statement calling it a "huge giveaway": "Exploiting the hurricane recovery process to harvest cash for cotton-growing businesses will fleece taxpayers for years." 

Numbers check: The cotton provision is budget neutral, according to aides familiar with the bill, but it's not clear how much the livestock insurance changes cost. 

Stabenow less than pleased: Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow also logged her disapproval with the plan. "While I'm encouraged that the House has recognized the need to support both dairy and cotton, this bill misses an important opportunity to repair the broken dairy safety net," Stabenow said in a statement.

Another wrench -- SNAP: Stabenow and others took issue with another little-noticed provision buried in the disaster-aid package: language that sets up a "National Accuracy Clearinghouse," a system aimed at making sure SNAP recipients are not collecting benefits in multiple states. No one seems to have an official estimate on how much such a move would save, but the word around town is that it's north of $550 million. 

The idea that any savings from SNAP would help shore up the farm safety net is a third rail issue for Democrats and anti-hunger advocates. "Pitting one part of the Farm Bill against another is the wrong way to get things done," Stabenow said Tuesday. 
Are savings ever free?: To complicate matters, House lawmakers were told that the USDA was likely to launch the clearinghouse in 2018 anyway. One school of thought: House Ag leaders were smart to at least use a foregone conclusion as a pay-for to shore up safety-net programs. If it was going to happen anyway, is it really raiding SNAP?

What's next: House Republicans are shifting gears on their plans to introduce measures to avert a government shutdown. Now they plan to vote on extending funding until Jan. 19 for the whole government. 

The $81 billion disaster aid bill, which has faced surprisingly strong opposition, will have a separate vote. House GOP leaders hope to vote on all their funding measures on Thursday, and then adjourn - leaving the Senate to finish up consideration of the measures.