By RACHEL LANE

D.C. Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After two years of hearings, the 2018 federal farm bill is being negotiated with possible changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the elimination of funding of some programs – but, overall, similar funding expected.

Both the House and Senate agriculture committees are working on versions of the bill. Preliminary versions will be discussed over the next few weeks before being approved and sent to their respective Congressional houses for approval. The differences in the two bills will be negotiated until the same bill passes in the House and the Senate and can be signed by President Donald Trump.

Initial voting on the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, H.R. 2, is expected in the House committee this week. The 641-page bill introduced on April 12 is online for reading, at https://bit.ly/2GSEN9I

In the Senate, the Democrats and Republicans are working together. Leadership of the Agriculture Committee has worked on farm bills in the past and foresee no large disparities.

The House bill would make changes to SNAP. As explained by Ag Committee Chair Mike Conaway (R-Texas), the new program would require any able-bodied adult without dependents between ages 18-59 to work 20 hours a week or receive job training. This would entitle a family of four to about $450 a month in food benefits.

Some of the requirements have been adjusted for the first time since the 1970s, he said. The first $2,000 in savings would be exempt from asset assessments. A car under $12,000 would not be counted against people, because, Conaway said, people should be able to have reliable transportation to work.

He also discussed putting a national database in place. It would help analyze how the program is used – how long the average person uses SNAP and what the circumstances are for the enrollment in the program. It would also catch people who might be enrolled in two states, which might happen now if someone lives close enough to the state line.

Democrats are upset with the potential changes to the SNAP program, and that they had not received a copy of the bill to offer input on the exact wording of changes. Conaway said their views are being taken into consideration with the new bill – but Democratic members of the committee still might vote no on H.R. 2.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released figures regarding the farm bill last week; its score is based on projected spending and returns over the next 10 years. Projected spending for 2018-28 is approximately $867 billion, down about $90 billion from the 2014 farm bill.

SNAP’s expected spending went from $756 billion in the 2014 bill to $664 billion for the 2018 bill. Conaway said the figures are what the agriculture committees of the two houses have to work with when writing the bill, and the money cannot be moved from SNAP to other programs in the bill.

Crop insurance is expected to cost $78 billion over the next 10 years, a decrease of $12 billion from the 2014 farm bill, according to the American Farm Bureau. This difference may be attributed to the price of crops over the last four years – as a result of the decreased prices, liability crop insurance policies have also decreased.

The commodity title, Title 1, is expected to cost more than originally anticipated, as farmers and ranchers rely on the safety net protection. Outlays are projected to be $61 billion, up $17 billion from 2014.

None of the 39 programs without a budget baseline are being funded, Conaway said. Funds were not available for the programs, but he plans to merge some of them with existing farm bill titles to provide funding. Cut programs include things like the Value-Added Producer Grants Program, Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program and Organic Certification Cost-Share.

Funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program is also being cut. The program funds 70 million acres across the United States. Conway said programs already approved will be funded, but new programs will not be added. Other conservation options are available, including the Agriculture Conservation Easement Program and Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative.

Money is being made available to start a foot-and-mouth disease vaccination bank in the House version of the bill, he said. The initial investment of funds will be used to research how and where to store vaccines, determine if those reaching the end of their efficiency could be sold to other countries and start mass-producing the vaccine.

The Senate leadership, Chair Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), authored a joint statement after the House released its version of the farm bill:

“We continue to be committed to working on a farm bill for all farmers and families. With low commodity prices, worsening conditions in farm country and unmet needs in communities across the country, we need to get this farm bill right. We're working together as quickly as possible to produce a bipartisan bill that can pass the Senate and be enacted into law.”