The Farm Bill expires on Sept. 30, 2018. Passing a new bill in the next year will require a coalition that cuts across parties and regions. But the bill’s trillion-dollar size produce plenty of critics who create fault lines that could derail the bill, which is currently being drafted by the House and Senate agriculture committees. One of those fault lines is the urban-rural coalition of farm-state Republicans (who back farm subsidies) and urban Democrats (who protect SNAP). But rural Republican support is no longer automatic. House Freedom Caucus members have backed deep cuts to the program in budget resolutions. Work requirements and other means of tightening the program, all billed as ways to ensure that SNAP aid is targeted to the most deserving, will divide GOP support. Some Democrats are more absolutist on SNAP than others. Pragmatists, including the ranking Democrats of both the House and Senate agriculture committees, will tolerate some changes to the rules to get a bill through. More strident advocates resist any reductions. This division weakens the Democrats’ united front. And the food stamp community itself has divisions. Many nutritionists support dietary restrictions for SNAP use as a way to encourage better eating. But the big grocers that support SNAP don't want those rules, which complicate business and could cut into sales.
Source: Bloomberg, 11/2/17, Farm Bill Dynamics
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