House lawmakers this month approved a Republican plan to trim federal food stamp spending by nearly $40 billion over 10 years – likely clearing the way for House and Senate members to begin conference negotiations to produce a new farm bill.
The food stamp cuts were originally intended to be included in the farm bill reauthorization the House approved in July as H.R. 2642. But the cuts did not go far enough for some conservative lawmakers, leading House Republican leaders to strip food stamp funding out entirely from that legislation. The Senate had earlier approved its own farm bill (S. 954) that included more modest food stamp reductions of $4 billion over 10 years.
Not wanting to begin farm bill negotiations conference with the Senate without having approved a food stamp proposal, House leaders pledged they would pass a separate food stamp bill before moving on to discussions with the Senate. That bill (H.R. 3102), with $39 million in food stamp cuts over 10 years, finally won House passage on September 19 along party lines.
Because the farm bill reauthorization process has gone on for longer than expected, some USDA farm programs will lapse when they are scheduled to expire on September 30. But lawmakers are confident that they will be able to quickly come to an agreement on a compromise bill before any major impacts are felt.
Few surprises are expected during conference negotiations over the farm bill conservation titles approved by each chamber. Both proposals would reduce the number of different federal conservation programs from 23 to 13, while also preserving USDA’s ability to offer grant assistance to local farmers that partner with nearby water utilities and other stakeholders on joint projects that protect or improve water quality. Currently these partnerships may receive funding through the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP), but both the House and Senate proposals would consolidate that program into a new Regional Conservation Partnerships Program (RCPP). Because of the similarities in both bills, an RCPP with eligibility for water projects is nearly certain to remain in Congress’ final farm legislation.