A dispute over food stamp benefits is holding up the Farm Bill. Democrats want to keep the increase in SNAP benefits that happened in 2021, while Republicans want to go back to the levels that were in place before 2021.
Farm Bill Faces Delay Over Dispute on 2021 SNAP Benefit Increase
The Center Square says that a debate about food stamp benefits is making it take longer for the new Farm Bill to be approved. A group of women Democrats wrote to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and asked him to uphold a 2021 change that would have increased monthly SNAP payments.
They say that the current plan would hurt single-parent families, especially those led by women, by taking $30 billion away from SNAP over the next ten years.
Susan Wild, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, spoke out against the changes, saying they would weaken important feeding programs that families need. In a rich country, she thinks, no one should go hungry because they can’t afford food.
The main point of disagreement is a change made by Biden that made SNAP payments 21% higher and added $256 billion to the total cost of the bill.
GOP Pushes to Roll Back 2021 SNAP Benefits in Farm Bill, Citing Political Motivations
The bill’s author, Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, says the “cut” would only return SNAP payments to where they were before 2021. He says the rise in 2021 was hasty and based on politics.
The Senate, which is run by Democrats, wants to keep the changes made in 2021. Some senators say this will help millions of people get out of poverty. The House, which is run by Republicans, wants to roll back the benefits.