{"id":2332405,"date":"2024-08-28T09:27:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T13:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/letter-urges-farm-bill-rework-amid-snap-snafu-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-28T09:35:32","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T13:35:32","slug":"letter-urges-farm-bill-rework-amid-snap-snafu-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/letter-urges-farm-bill-rework-amid-snap-snafu-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter urges Farm Bill \u2018rework\u2019 amid SNAP snafu &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fletter-urges-farm-bill-rework-amid-snap-snafu-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2332405&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brad-pitt-says-its-exhausting-to-have-to-constantly-chase-the-clint-eastwood-image-of-masculinity\/\" title=\"Brad Pitt Says \u201cIt\u2019s Exhausting\u201d to Have to Constantly Chase the \u201cClint Eastwood\u201d Image of Masculinity\">ongoing debate surrounding<\/a> the Farm Bill in the U.S. Congress, particularly regarding proposed\u200b changes to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). A letter from the Democratic Women\u2019s\u2064 Caucus, signed by 65 House lawmakers including Pennsylvania Democratic Representatives, has urged House Speaker Mike Johnson\u2064 to revise the current Farm\u2062 Bill \u2064proposal. They argue that the plan, which is set to cut $30 billion \u200dfrom SNAP over the next decade, would adversely affect millions of\u200d Americans, especially single-parent households predominantly led by women. <\/p>\n<p>Rep. Susan Wild expressed her disappointment\u2063 with the proposed cuts, emphasizing that no one in a wealthy nation should go hungry. In contrast, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Glenn Thompson, who is leading the legislation efforts, argues that these cuts are a \u200dreturn to a long-standing benefit\u200d calculation, and claims the recent increases in benefits were\u2063 made unlawfully. The debate highlights significant ideological rifts on how to \u200callocate food assistance and the broader implications\u200d for \u200cvulnerable populations relying on SNAP.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Letter urges Farm Bill &lsquo;rework&rsquo; amid SNAP snafu<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1739147\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; A stalled congressional effort to update the nation&rsquo;s five-year Farm Bill hinges on a disagreement over how to calculate food stamp benefits for 42.1 million Americans.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In a letter sent to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Tuesday, the Democratic Women&rsquo;s Caucus urged him to rework the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-romney-cotton-minimum-wage-plan-is-anti-conservative-and-embraces-the-logic-of-the-left\/\" title=\"The Romney\/Cotton Minimum Wage Plan Is Anti-Conservative And Embraces The Logic Of The Left\">current proposal<\/a> so that a 2021 update that raised monthly allowances in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, would remain.<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Reps. Susan Wild, Chrissy Houlahan, Summer Lee, Madeleine Dean and Mary Gay Scanlon joined 60 other House lawmakers as signatories.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I firmly believe that in the richest nation in the world, no one should go to bed hungry because they can&rsquo;t afford food for themselves or their family,&rdquo; Wild said in a statement issued Tuesday. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why I am deeply disappointed my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have put forth a Farm Bill that would gut key nutrition programs families in our community depend on.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The caucus said the current version of the Farm, Food and National Security Act would cut $30 billion from SNAP over the next decade &ndash; a reduction that would disproportionately hit single-parent households, among which women comprise 92%.<\/p>\n<p>Three-quarters of the money spent in the 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mcconnell-warns-democrats-what-republicans-will-do-if-democrats-end-filibuster-would-be-childs-play\/\" title=\"McConnell Warns Democrats What Republicans Will Do If Democrats End Filibuster: \u2018Would Be Child\u2019s Play\u2019\">farm bill<\/a> supports SNAP. Although the legislation&rsquo;s update is a year overdue, ideological differences over how to allocate benefits remain.<\/p>\n<p>In a plea to Republican colleagues, Wild said she would &ldquo;never abandon vulnerable women and children across our community, commonwealth, and country who rely on this support to stay healthy and fed.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The refrain, however, doesn&rsquo;t ring true for Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn &ldquo;GT&rdquo; Thompson, the chief architect of the legislation. In remarks offered on May 23, he said the &ldquo;cut&rdquo; Democratic critics refer to is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hagerty-everythings-moving-putins-way-on-s-t-a-r-t-cyberattacks-and-nord-stream-2-under-biden\/\" title=\"Hagerty: &#039;Everything&#039;s Moving&#039; Putin&#039;s Way on S.T.A.R.T., Cyberattacks, and Nord Stream 2 under Biden\">reversion back<\/a> to a benefit calculation used for more than 40 years in the Thrifty Food Plan before a Biden administration executive order &ldquo;unilaterally, intentionally &ndash; and according to GAO &ndash; unlawfully&rdquo; changed it.<\/p>\n<p>GAO is the acronym of the Government Accountability Office.<\/p>\n<p>The new calculation boosted monthly benefits 21% and added $256 billion to the total cost of Thompson&rsquo;s bill. According to a report from the Center for American Progress, this means Pennsylvania receives an additional $774 million for its 2 million SNAP beneficiaries.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The administration and my Democratic colleagues purport the update was science-based and transparent, and have even gone so far to say that no one can arbitrarily increase SNAP,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;However, Secretary Vilsack stood by his team as they did just that, through a rushed process devoid of thoroughness and filled with politics.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He added that returning to the &ldquo;cost-neutral&rdquo; calculation restores Congress&rsquo; authority &ndash; which alone must decide if it should be raised above inflation.<\/p>\n<p>The Thrifty Food Program, first developed in 1975, determines the lowest monthly cost of a nutritionally balanced grocery budget for a four-person household. That calculation factors into the maximum SNAP benefits offered.<\/p>\n<p>Although the foods identified in the plan have been updated three times since its inception &mdash; in 1983, 1999 and 2006 &mdash; the anticipated cost has not.<\/p>\n<p>SNAP does, however, rise with cost-of-living adjustments, which are reviewed separately from the Thrifty Food Program.<\/p>\n<p>An analysis published by the National Library of Medicine found that the 2021 reevaluation &ldquo;yielded no significant changes&rdquo; to beneficiaries&rsquo; food security, dietary intake or mental health outcomes compared to nonparticipants.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Although the Republican-led House supports rolling back the benefit to pre-2021 levels, the Democrat-majority Senate will likely share in the sentiments of Wild and other members of the Democratic Women&rsquo;s Caucus.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who chairs the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, kept the 2021 change in her version of the bill, saying that doing so will lift 2.4 million Americans out of poverty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1739147\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1739147\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A letter has been sent to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., urging a revision of the current Farm Bill proposal due to issues surrounding food stamp benefits for 42.1 million Americans. The Democratic Women\u2019s Caucus expressed their concerns that the proposed changes would eliminate a 2021 update that increased monthly allowances in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). Pennsylvania Democratic Representatives Susan Wild, Chrissy Houlahan, Summer Lee, Madeleine Dean, and Mary Gay Scanlon joined 60 other lawmakers in signing the letter. Wild emphasized her belief that no one should go hungry in such a wealthy nation and criticized her Republican colleagues for proposing cuts to essential nutrition programs relied upon by families in need. The caucus highlighted that the current version of the Farm Bill could reduce SNAP funding by $30 billion over ten years, disproportionately affecting single-parent households where women make up 92%. While three-quarters of spending from the 2018 farm bill supports SNAP, ideological differences regarding benefit allocation have delayed updates to this legislation for over a year. Wild reiterated her commitment to supporting vulnerable populations who depend on these benefits.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Glenn &#8220;GT&#8221; Thompson defended his position as the main architect of this legislation by stating that what Democrats label as cuts are actually a return to an older benefit calculation used for decades before changes made under President Biden&#8217;s administration were deemed unlawful by some critics. He argued that reverting back restores Congress&#8217; authority over benefit adjustments and maintains cost neutrality.<\/p>\n<p>The Thrifty Food Plan serves as a basis for determining maximum SNAP benefits and has undergone updates since its inception but not regarding anticipated costs; however, SNAP does adjust with cost-of-living increases separately from this plan. A study indicated no significant improvements in food security or health outcomes among beneficiaries following recent evaluations.<\/p>\n<p>While Republicans support reducing benefits back to pre-2021 levels, it is expected that Senate Democrats will align with representatives like Wild who advocate keeping those increases intact\u2014citing potential poverty alleviation for millions of Americans through these measures<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2332406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iStock-1414600334-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[39509,4762,11892],"class_list":["post-2332405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-farm-bill","tag-legislation","tag-snap"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iStock-1414600334-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2332405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2332406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2332405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2332405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2332405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}