The U.S. House Agriculture Committee has released a draft farm bill that includes provisions to reduce spending on food aid for the poor and cut funding for efforts to help farmers fight climate change, drawing opposition from Democrats.
The legislation, which funds nutrition, conservation, and commodity programs, is typically passed every five years. However, Congress faces steep odds to pass a new farm bill this session as the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-majority Senate remain far apart on key issues.
The House bill would cut spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food benefits for low-income families, by $27 billion over 10 years. This would be achieved by restricting the Department of Agriculture’s authority to update the cost of a sample grocery budget that underlies the benefit calculation.
Anti-hunger groups have stated their opposition to any cuts to SNAP. The bill would also allow people with past felony drug offenses to receive SNAP benefits.
Additionally, the House bill would rescind as much as $14.4 billion in funding for climate-friendly farm practices provided by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. This move has been criticized by Democrats and environmental groups, and Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow has called it a “non-starter.”
The White House has also pledged to protect the climate funding, setting up a potential clash with the Republican-led House.
House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson said the draft is “responsive to the needs of farm country,” but Democrats have warned that it would “split the broad, bipartisan coalition” that has traditionally supported the farm bill.
The Senate Agriculture Committee has released a summary of its version of the bill, but the full legislative language has not yet been released. The two committees will need to reconcile their bills before sending the legislation to the full chambers for a vote.
With the deep divisions between the House and Senate, the passage of a new farm bill this session faces significant hurdles, and Congress may opt to extend the 2018 law for another year if they fail to reach an agreement.