Severe cuts to food assistance proposed by House Republicans continues to delay progress on a new Farm Bill
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
LA CROSSE, Wis. – In case you missed it, Up North News highlighted how severe cuts to food assistance in the proposed Farm Bill have stalled negotiations and threaten the passage of the legislation.
The Republican proposal, which Congressman Derrick Van Orden voted for, is estimated to cut $460 million in SNAP benefits in Wisconsin alone, raising costs for low-income families and making it tougher for them to afford groceries. With the previous version of the Farm Bill temporarily extended after its expiration last year, delaying passage of a new bill also makes it more difficult for Wisconsin family farmers to plan ahead and prepare.
According to reports, if the food assistance cuts in this bill were enacted, it would make the largest cuts to SNAP benefits since 1996. During markup of the bill in committee, Van Orden also voted against an amendment which would have stripped cuts to SNAP out of the bill.
This isn’t the first time Van Orden has voted in favor of slashing food assistance programs. Last year, he voted for the Default on America Act, which would have threatened SNAP benefits for 14,000 Wisconsinites, cut Meals on Wheels access for more than 1 million seniors nationwide, and jeopardized WIC benefits for nearly 1.2 million women, babies, and children.
“Congressman Van Orden voted for extreme cuts to food assistance programs that help thousands of Wisconsin families put food on the table,” said Opportunity Wisconsin Program Director Meghan Roh. “Now, these extreme cuts have derailed Farm Bill negotiations and Wisconsin farmers, families, and communities are left without the certainty they deserve. It’s time for Congressman Van Orden and his Republican colleagues to support a Farm Bill that helps lower costs, supports family farmers, and helps Wisconsin succeed.”
Up North News: Van Orden and House GOP delay a new Farm Bill yet again
Passing a new Farm Bill has grown substantially less likely now that the Congressional Budget Office has told House Republicans its version falls far short of being financially balanced—and Republicans responded by digging in their heels, especially on cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The result may be another delay of updating the package of legislation that oversees everything from crop insurance to food assistance to conservation programs, as Republicans continue pushing for cuts not supported by Senate Democrats or President Joe Biden.
The Farm Bill is reviewed and modified every five years, but its 2023 renewal is already eight months late. Passage relies on agreement between widely varied contingencies: farmers, consumers, producers, urban interests, rural interests, and more.
“[For Republicans] to make the case that this Farm Bill needs to cut nutrition in order to pay for other programs, that’s just a nonstarter politically,” said Mike Stranz, vice president of advocacy for the National Farmers Union, told UpNorthNews Radio.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates the House Republican proposal could put more than 10 million people—about 1 in 4 SNAP participants, including about 4 million children—at risk of losing food assistance—including a $460 million cut to SNAP food assistance in Wisconsin.
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SNAP is currently “the strongest lever we have against food insecurity,” said Poonam Gupta, a research associate in the Income and Benefits Policy Center at the Urban Institute, told The New Republic last month. According to the US Census Bureau’s ongoing household survey of scarcity, about 343,000 Wisconsin adults—8.5 percent of the population—report that there was either sometimes or often not enough to eat in the last 7 days. The national figure is around 10.5 percent.
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