SNAP Benefits Warning Issued

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has warned Republicans against attempts to cut SNAP benefits as negotiations for the 2024 Farm Bill get underway.

During the debt ceiling negotiations last summer, Democrats agreed to increase the work requirement age limit for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to 55, with limited exceptions for homeless people and veterans. But now, Republican lawmakers want additional cuts made to SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, which helps feed low- and no-income Americans throughout the country.

The 2018 Farm Bill, originally set to expire in 2023 but extended last year, is coming up for renewal this September. GOP Representative Glenn Thompson released a five-page summary this week recommending an axe to the five-year evaluations and making $30 billion in cuts, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

"The proposal would do this by freezing the cost of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Thrifty Food Plan (the basis for SNAP benefit levels) outside of inflation adjustments, even if nutrition guidelines or other factors change the cost of an adequate diet," the CBPP Vice President for Food Assistance Ty Jones Cox said in a statement.

Vilsack has said the Republican proposal breaks the deal made last year, and that "it's not the right policy," according to a report by Nebraska Public Media.

"It was a four-page outline and it really didn't tell me much at all what he [Thompson] wants to do." Vilsack said, according to Brownfield AG News. "I would hope that he would learn there's no appetite for reductions in the SNAP program."

However, Thompson has denied there will be any cuts to SNAP as part of Republican Farm Bill plans. "The 2024 Farm Bill will reassert Congressional intent by prescribing a cost-neutral process while taking into consideration food prices and composition, consumption patterns, and dietary guidance," Thompson, who is chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said in a statement in April this year.

"SNAP benefits will continue to be annually updated to reflect inflation. To be clear, House Republicans are not cutting, decreasing, or impacting SNAP benefits or eligibility for them." Newsweek has contacted Thompson via phone call for comment outside of normal working hours.

Vilsack has instead backed a proposal by fellow Democrat Senator Debbie Stabenow, which he said would better benefit the USDA and SNAP recipients. "It's much better to over time adjust accordingly in small increments—so that families, who need the help, get help and appropriate help," Vilsack said.

"It's important, I think, for Congress to focus and to recognize that this has to be a practical farm bill," Vilsack said. "This has to be not a pie in the sky, not hopes and dreams and going to give you everything you're asking for."

Other changes suggested in the Democrat proposal for the Farm Bill, also known as the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act 2024, include removing the federal ban on convicted drug felons accessing SNAP benefits, as well as allowing incarcerated individuals to apply for food assistance within 30 days of their release from prison. It would also exempt individuals 24 years and younger who are in college and have aged out of foster care from restrictions on college students receiving the benefit.