U.S. House OKs farm bill with major food
stamps changes
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[June 22, 2018]
By Amanda Becker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of
Representatives on Thursday approved a massive Republican farm bill with
changes to the government food stamps program that make it unlikely to
become law in this form.
The Senate is considering its own farm bill with no major changes to the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) used by more than 40
million Americans, or about 12 percent of the total U.S. population.
The House passed the $867 billion farm bill in a 213-to-211 vote,
earning the support of some conservative Republicans who helped defeat
it in May after its renewal became entangled in an unrelated debate over
immigration.
Farm bills are massive, providing funding for diverse programs including
food aid, crop subsidies, rural development, conservation and efforts to
stem the opioid crisis in rural communities. The last bill came into
effect in 2014, two years behind schedule, after extensive congressional
negotiations and partisan fights over food stamps.
The Republican SNAP proposals in the current farm bill would expand the
number of non-disabled individuals subject to work requirements by
raising the top age to 59 from 49 and including more people caring for
school-age children. It would also put new limits on state governors'
ability to waive work requirements in economically depressed areas.
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A pedestrian walks past the U.S. Capitol building in Washington,
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Democrats opposed the farm bill, which typically gets bipartisan
support, due to the proposed SNAP changes. The Senate, where
Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority and passing most legislation
requires 60 votes, is working on its own bipartisan version of the
legislation.
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(Reporting by Amanda Becker; Additional reporting by Mark Weinraub;
Editing by Richard Chang)
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