Senate dems are blocking and SNAP rollbacks in the farm bill

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow has a warning for House Republicans who are looking to slash spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Cut SNAP, she says, and the rest of the farm bill will be pared back, too.

Stabenow delivered the warning in her opening statement at Thursday’s committee hearing with Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack. Stabenow said “threats we are hearing from some in the House in favor of reckless and indiscriminate mandatory budget cuts will result in cuts to all farm bill programs. We cannot go backward at a time when our farmers and families need us most.”

Why it matters: Her warning puts farm groups on notice, too. Earlier this week, some 400 farm groups appealed to the Senate and House Budget committees to ensure farm bill funding for a range of concerns, including commodity program price supports. Almost simultaneously, a group of House Republicans proposed a major expansion of SNAP work requirements.

Stabenow’s clear message: That SNAP proposal would doom any chance of shoring up commodity programs.

By the way: Vilsack, who defended his department’s update of the Thrifty Food Plan, which increased the monthly benefit for SNAP recipients, became animated when asked by a reporter whether the White House would agree to expand work requirements in SNAP as part of a compromise on raising the debt ceiling. TFP is an assessment of eating costs that’s used as a basis for SNAP benefits.

“In addition to all of the important work that it does for families, (SNAP) also helps to subsidize low-wage companies and businesses,” Vilsack said. “So when people talk to me about work requirements … my question is, if you're truly interested in that, are you also taking a look at the wage levels?”