Food Stamps Could Slow Farm Bill

Posted by Chad Vorthmann on Jul 11, 2012 in Featured, Legislative | 0 comments

According to a Businessweek article, conflicts over funding for food stamps will likely slow or even halt the farm bill’s advancement. The bill will be considered by the House Agriculture Committee this week. Although the bill may be approved by the committee, some analysts are saying House leaders would prefer to delay consideration until after the November election.

Mary Kay Thatcher, AFBF’s farm policy specialist, said the House must pass a bill this month in order to leave enough time for resolving differences with the Senate version before the end of September, when the current farm bill expires. Thatcher said $16.1 billion in proposed cuts to food stamps may not be sufficient to motivate Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, to bring the bill to the floor for what is expected to be a contentious debate.