By MATTHEW D. ERNST
Missouri Correspondent WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congress is gearing up for farm bill negotiations, and some policy watchers are wondering how a USDA announcement this month might impact the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the bill’s biggest budget item. The issue is how the federal government might give states greater flexibility to administer SNAP. Brandon Lipps, the Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services acting deputy under secretary and Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administrator, indicated on Dec. 5 that changes to SNAP are forthcoming in areas of self-sufficiency, integrity and customer service. “As necessary to address each of these focus areas, we will allow greater state flexibility in areas that do not increase costs to taxpayers or our various partners on the ground,” he said. That broad statement came with a promise to soon roll out specifics. The first specific announcement came on Dec. 8, when the USDA announced Arizona will be allowed to require direct contact with SNAP recipients who request a replacement benefits card two times in a 12-month period. That is a waiver from the federal guideline of four times, according to USDA. The Arizona Department of Economic Security will collect data and report to USDA through November 2019 “to show what impact the lower replacement card threshold has on potential misuse of program benefits,” according to a press release. The announcement also came the same day that Lipps met with the Secretaries’ Innovation Group (SIG), a group of state social services administrators from 20 Republican administrations. The group has criticized expansion of SNAP benefits to the middle class, according to SIG policy documents, and has advocated for mandating work requirements for recipients. The SIG has also called for limiting payments to certain groups, such as undocumented immigrants, and limiting the kinds of products that can be purchased with SNAP benefits, such as soda and candy, according to a Washington Post report on the Dec. 8 meeting. Such proposals are popular with conservative and budget watchdog groups. Lipps did not offer comment on whether future USDA announcements on SNAP would reflect the proposals by SIG, according to the Post. Even small tweaks to the program are often unpopular with SNAP supporters, some who fear this month’s USDA announcement could signal cuts to the program. Marion Nestle, professor emerita at New York University and visiting professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell, termed the original Dec. 5 USDA announcement “Orwellian.” “This is the USDA’s first attack on SNAP. Prediction: More to come,” wrote Nestle, a frequent critic of U.S. food policy, on her Food Politics blog. From a farm bill perspective, significant changes to SNAP could risk alienating Democratic support for the legislation during a period when producer groups and rural legislators are touting the benefits and importance of crop insurance. “We have to have crop insurance. That’s what the most important part of the farm bill is,” said U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) in a “Farm Bill Friday” video, part of a campaign by House Agriculture Committee Republicans to highlight the bill. The House Agriculture Committee on Dec. 13 launched a new website page to provide updates and information on the 2018 farm bill. In a press release announcing the website, House Agriculture Chair Michael Conaway (R-Texas) said, “I’m committed to completing a farm bill on time. “We’ve spent the past three years preparing – holding 113 hearings and six listening sessions around the country. We recognize what’s at stake. We’re working on getting the policy right, and will use this site as a resource as we advance the next farm bill.” The new website may be found at https://agriculture.house.gov/farmbill |
