Food assistance may be the most divisive piece of the Farm Bill, but the bill’s top House negotiators share a desire to keep those aid programs strong.
“The nutrition title provides for both food security and financial security,” said U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa.
Thompson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., the panel’s top Democrat, discussed the Farm Bill on State College, Pennsylvania, TV station WPSU.
The event was recorded May 19 and aired May 25.
Though a new Farm Bill is due in September, food programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could be altered sooner via the debt ceiling negotiations.
The approximate deadline for the debt talks is June 1.
Republicans have proposed expanding work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents.
The expectation to work, volunteer or receive job training currently applies to people ages 18 to 49.
“I’d like to see that go to 55, only because if you take it to 55, a 55-year-old would be eligible for these benefits,” Thompson said.
A quarter of SNAP recipients are already working, many juggling low-wage jobs and struggling to get by, he said.
Thompson said he prefers to think of work requirements as job opportunities.
Scott said he wished Republicans had not made work requirements a negotiating chip for raising the nation’s debt limit, and he was adamant that certain groups continue to be exempt from work rules.
“How can we even begin to deal with even thinking about dealing with our debt on the backs of our veterans, our children and our senior citizens?” Scott said.
Thompson agreed that work requirements make no sense for millions of SNAP beneficiaries. Children, adults caring for young children, people with disabilities, and people over 60 are among those exempted.
The work-requirement controversy has strained efforts to pass the last two Farm Bills.
Despite this, Thompson and Scott both emphasized their support for SNAP.
Thompson said the program is an example of neighbors helping neighbors. It offers training to help people obtain jobs, and all the food provided through the program ultimately came from farmers.
Thompson said he and Scott also agree that nutrition programs should remain part of the Farm Bill.
In past years, some lawmakers have suggested splitting the farm and food provisions into separate legislation. Doing so would disrupt a decades-old pairing that ensures support from both rural and urban lawmakers.
Source: lancasterfarming.com
Photo Credit: gettyimages-fatcamera
Categories: Pennsylvania, Government & Policy