The 56-member committee has until the end of the month to pass the new Farm Bill
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The public officials tasked with passing the next Farm Bill began the process this week.
The 56-member (comprised of nine senators and 47 representatives) Farm Bill Conference Committee held its first official meeting Wednesday.
The committee has until Sept. 30 to pass the new Farm Bill since the current one expires at the end of the month. They understand tough decisions will be made to pass the bill on time.
“I don’t say that different issues or different concerns aren’t important, but when you finally get down to it you have to pass a bill,” Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the committee, told KMVT yesterday.
One of the issues the committee is expected to debate heavily is potential changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The House version of the Farm Bill includes stricter work requirements to be eligible for SNAP. People would have to provide proof that they worked or participated in a work program for at least 20 hours per week, for example.
Some committee members feel the work requirements are a good way to help boost the economy.
“Our country’s economy is growing at its strongest pace in four years, and our unemployment rate is at an 18-year low,” Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, a member of the conference committee, said during the meeting, WQAD reported. “There are 6.6 million open jobs in this country and small business optimism is the highest it’s been in 35 years.”
The Senate’s version of the Farm Bill does not include major changes to SNAP work requirements.
And some politicians feel implementing such guidelines could hurt the people who rely on the program.
“This bill literally takes food from the tables of millions of low-income families who are struggling to make ends meet,” Congresswoman Maxine Waters, a Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, said during the committee meeting.
President Trump expressed his support for the work requirements on social media, tweeting they would “bolster farmers and get America back to work.”
He reaffirmed his support before meeting with members of his administration.
“I strongly support (some) common-sense work requirements in the food stamps in the farm bill,” he said, Reuters reported. “We’ll see if we can get that. The farmers would like to get that.”