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Thursday, February 16, 2017

FARM BILL WILL BE BACK ON THE TABLE SOON


Last week, food and agriculture policy experts met to discuss the 2018 Farm Bill. The discussion was hosted by AGree, a bipartisan food policy organization supported by eight of the largest food and ag-focused foundations. One key topic of conversation was the future of SNAP, which like other nutrition programs are funded through the Farm Bill and account for about 75% of its spending ($89 billion in 2016). Republican legislators have in the past proposed removing SNAP from the Farm Bill and converting it to a block grant. Several participants at the AGree event seemed confident that the SNAP program wouldn’t experience major cuts, let alone block-granting. But Eric Mitchell, from the anti-hunger advocacy organization Bread for the World, was more skeptical. He expressed concern that the Republican Congress might still pursue block-granting SNAP, even against the wishes of agriculture groups, and noted that several powerful Republicans have supported a move to block grants, including House Agriculture Committee chair Mike Conaway and House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Source: Civil Eats, 2/8/17, Farm Bill

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