House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway on Tuesday announced he would delay the release of the farm bill after intense opposition from Democrats over cuts to the food-stamp program, a conflict that doesn't look like it will be settling soon despite the committee's push to produce bipartisan legislation, Politico reports.
"I think they're going to get a real rejection by the House conservatives if they publish this the way I think they're thinking about it," said Jason Turner, who leads Secretaries Innovation Group, a group of conservative state officials who administer SNAP and favor policies that reduce the welfare rolls. "And I don't think they're going to get the Democrats."
Democrats were outraged last week that Conaway was looking into stricter work requirements for some 8 million SNAP recipients. Now, some Republicans are upset that the bill will not go as far as they wanted.
Conaway had planned on marking up the farm bill next week, but the committee is staying mum on any changes to the program, according to Politico.
"While the chairman has said publicly that he would like to move a bill by the end of Q1 [the first quarter of 2018] — and that remains the goal — ultimately he would still like to move a bipartisan bill," Rachel Millard, Conaway's communications director, said in an email to The Progressive Farmer. "So we're working closely with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to try to get there."
SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, offers assistance to low-income households to purchase food.
Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said Republicans "want to take 8 million people off the rolls" and give the savings to "to the states to create a job training bureaucracy."
"My side is in revolt," said Peterson during an interview with Mike Adams of American Ag Network. "There will not be one single vote in committee for this bill if what they have currently in the bill is in there."
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