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Democrats dig in over nutrition title details
Story Date: 3/29/2018
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Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 3/28/17
Elements of the House farm bill's nutrition title emerged on Tuesday when House Agriculture Democrats revealed specific policies proposed by Chairman Mike Conaway, including cutting an estimated 1 million people from SNAP and slashing spending on food stamp benefits by more than $20 billion over a decade.
New state work program? Conaway wants to add $13 billion in new administrative costs for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to materials minority staff provided to reporters on Tuesday, Pro Ag's Helena Bottemiller Evich and Catherine Boudreau report. That would include a large-scale expansion of state education and training programs, which Democrats argue is tantamount to creating an entire new federal bureaucracy.
Democrats estimate the proposals could spur an increase of greater than 600 percent in participation in the SNAP education and training system, since work or training would become mandatory for more beneficiaries. SNAP education and training programs now serve about 700,000 people annually, a fraction of the 42 million Americans who rely on food stamps.
Conaway has kept the bill under lock and key, and ranking member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) didn't share details with committee Democrats until earlier this month - both of which helped fuel the partisan standoff over the chairman's proposals to tighten SNAP eligibility and work requirements. Ultimately, Peterson was forced to halt the negotiations.
Minority staff cautioned on Tuesday that savings and cost estimates could change as the committee tweaks the measure. The staffers said they've only been provided CBO estimates for pieces of the proposed bill.
One number already has changed: Democratic committee aides walked back earlier reports suggesting that 8 million SNAP beneficiaries would be subject to stricter work requirements. The estimate they are now using is 3 to 5 million people. The lower figure is due in part to the fact that some parents would be newly exempt from existing work requirements.
Republican rebuttal: Republicans dismissed the estimates provided by Democrats as not being reflective of the bill under consideration.
"It's pretty clear the Democrats have no interest in getting a farm bill done this year or in even negotiating a farm bill," said a Republican aide. "I don't know what was given to you, but I can promise you that the chairman's mark will come out and it is not the numbers or the information that was shared with you today. What they shared with you is far from final."
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