Senate passes farm bill, setting up food stamp fight with House
WASHINGTON _ The Senate passed bipartisan farm legislation that sets up a clash with the House and President Donald Trump over imposing broad new work requirements for food stamp recipients.
The Senate bill, passed 86-11 Thursday, would renew subsidies for farmers and crop insurance companies, along with food aid for low-income families. The Senate bill doesn't include the work rules. The House version would make work requirements stricter and would shift some food stamp benefits to job-training programs _ changes critics say are designed to throw needy Americans off the rolls.
The House and Senate versions of the five-year, $867 billion legislation will need to be reconciled. Trump backs the work rules in the House plan, which was passed 213-211 last week without any Democratic votes.
Lawmakers are under pressure to act before current farm programs begin to expire on Sept. 30. The farm legislation is a traditional vehicle for modifying the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps.
Republicans said the work requirements are needed to move food stamp recipients into the labor force at a time of worker shortages. Democrats rejected those provisions because they said they'll reduce benefits and increase paperwork without effectively moving people into jobs.
The Senate plan boosts funding for pilot programs that study the effectiveness of job training for food-stamp recipients, but doesn't change work rules nationwide. The House version changes eligibility rules for food stamps.
_Bloomberg News
