Food Stamps May Be Split From Farm Bill In House

[onehandle]

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- Republicans are making more noise about dropping food stamps from farm legislation that previously failed to pass the House of Representatives because of disagreement over cuts in nutrition assistance.

Roll Call reported Tuesday that a vote could happen as soon as this week, but a spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) suggested leaders haven't made up their minds. "There has been no decision made to schedule a vote on a farm bill, in any form," Cantor spokesman Rory Cooper told HuffPost. Cantor previously hinted that the House leadership was considering splitting the farm legislation.

The farm bill failed last month after Democrats voted against it because they felt its cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program went too far, while conservative Republicans voted nay because the cuts didn't go far enough. Many on both sides also consider its farm subsidies overly generous to agribusiness.

The House GOP could likely pass deeper SNAP cuts without any Democratic support, although it's unclear how such a conservative bill could pass in the Senate. While some of the farm subsidy provisions will expire in the fall without new legislation, food stamps will continue on autopilot, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told HuffPost last week.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/09/food-stamps-farm-bill_n_3567605.html

[OneAngryDemocrat]

1. I think...

I think one of the dumbasses from the other side of the aisle finally took a look at the calendar and realized that we've got another election coming up.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RockfordSOL

[WovenGems]

2. A win win

If the Democrats take a page out of the Republican playbook a win win outcome can occur. Delay the bill until subsidies die and the food stamp program won't get cut at all.

[RiverNoord]

3. It would be very popular in agricultural states

and as such, not a win scenario but a potential slick move by the Repubs. I have family involved in highly successful farming, and all I hear regarding the farm bill is how so much of it is food stamps. Never mind that the other stuff keeps farmers alive and/or thriving during hard times...

[WovenGems]

4. Hmm

Are those relatives the ones who really weren't the target of the farm bill when we designed many years ago? We wanted to help small farms, family farms, not big agribusiness. All attempts to realign the farm bill to small farms fail. So it may just be time to start over.

[RiverNoord]

6. Well, they are family farms with about 4 employees

but cover an awful lot of acreage. Of course, I don't really know what 'we' meant when the farm bill was designed years ago - not to be facetious, but were you involved in its development? - all I know is that a split would be very popular in agricultural regions, and if it's pushed by Repubs, they'll get the credit.

[BronxBoy]

9. Actually.......

Historically, the farm bill has been an uneasy alliance between the conservative farming bloc the liberal more urban areas. The farming contingent supported the nutrition aspects of the program while the liberal and urban blocs agreed to support the ag subsidies. And until recently, it has worked. Splitting the program could be a double edged sword. Just as some farmers may be complaining about the nutrition programs in the bill, a LOT of people have real problems with the ag subsidy programs as well and isolating them will make them a tempting target. I for one would like to see much more money spent on sustainable agriculture programs.

What I don't understand is that eventually the money spent on nutrition programs winds up back in the pockets of farmers. Why the rush to cut it?

[RiverNoord]

10. Try the argument in your last sentence

with a farmer and see what response you get. And don't expect money to be spent on sustainable agriculture - considering the projected world population growth over the next 20-30 years, severely unsustainable farming will barely cover the world's food requirements. Farmers are businesspeople, and they are quite well aware that their markets are international. Most of them consider 'sustainable' or 'organic' farming to be hippie nonsense.

I'm a vegetarian, BTW, and quite in favor of sustainable agriculture, since the alternative is eventual disaster.

[BronxBoy]

11. Ummm.....

I sit on a USDA board that funds research projects for the entire Southeast. And I am extensively involved in helping farmers (both conventional and sustainable) and communities build their local food systems. As a matter of fact, I just came from meeting with a 70 year old farm here in Georgia that is looking to implement some aspects of sustainable ag into it's conventional operations

I stand by what I say and I might speak with way more farmers than you over the course of a typical year.

And by the way, I'm a fulltime farmer.

[RiverNoord]

13. Well then, you give me hope, but

I fear that it will be too little too late. My area of knowledge is the upper midwest, where staple crop yields are what drive almost all agricultural activity - you can't afford to farm if you don't seek maximum yields, considering the crazy cost of quality land.

[BronxBoy]

14. I somewhat agree with you

You sound like you know a lot of farmers that fall into the "middle"

And yes there are times when I think we may have gone too far round the bend, But all we can do is try

[Iliyah]

5. The farm bill most likely for subsides not

helping too many family farms and the smaller ones.

As someone mentioned on another site "GOPers are for Corporate Welfare"

Dems - Human Welfare. And that sums it perfectly.

As to SNAP you guys realize that the GOPers want to dismantle it competely - right? Most GOPers want to dismantle any "monies" that help and benefit the ones who are struggling.

[RiverNoord]

8. Of course the Repubs want to dismantle SNAP

They want people to be so desperate for work that they will tolerate lower wages and lousy working conditions, rolling back everything that this country achieved years ago to the benefit of the middle class.

Splitting SNAP from the Farm Bill would be a cunning move in that direction, as it would get the support of all agricultural state reps and senators, as well as anyone paid for by Big Agra.

Whenever I discuss the bizarre dichotomy between government subsidizing business vs. assisting the very poor with people who actually get the business subsidies, they make wild claims about how 'welfare' is so big compared to business subsidies. Then, when they see the numbers, they claim that I am lying or getting the info from bogus sources. Apparently the Congressional Record is bogus when compared to their biases...

[BronxBoy]

12. This is some truth to what you say.

The farms that are struggling in this country are what's known as the farms in the middle. Farms typically in the 100-1,000 acre size. The smaller farms are doing well especially those near dense population centers that can develop multiple income streams, fill unsatisfied market niches and react quickly to changing patterns in the marketplace. The large corporate agribusinesses are doing very well. The nature of our modern food system favors consolidation and cost cutting and I believe business selling into the larger supply chains are at a great advantage.

The guys in the middle are the ones having problems. They often cannot compete with larger agribusinesses from a pure cost standpoint and the market space where the smaller guys play is often unfamiliar territory to them or the have to reinvent their business which is a challenge in and of itself.

I actually believe that this is more a a tea party created issue than a GOP one per se and that there are republicans who see the benefits of the program not only for farmers they may represent but also for the larger good.

[sinkingfeeling]

7. There are 'leaders' in the House to make up their minds? Could have

fooled me.