It’s Not Old McDonald’s Farm Anymore
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Landscape…113th Congress
• Few occupy the center-most cluster near the
ideological extremes
• Polarization is at the highest level since
Reconstruction
• Many have never served in public office
• Effectiveness measured how many wrenches
are thrown into the process
• Deficit drives competitive wedges with partners
Political Landscape…State
• States face unprecedented budget concerns
• Budget cut targets:
• Medicaid
• Education
• State workforce
• Sequestration
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More than Farm…
Overview of 2012 Farm Bill Legislation
Expired
Farm Bill
Food Conservation and
Energy Act of 2008
S. 3240
Proposals
for new
Farm Bill
in 2012
Farm Bill
Extension
A $288B bill passed in 2008. The Food Conservation and Energy
Act of 2008 expired on October 1, 2012
The Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, a 5-year
renewal plan for the Farm Bill passed in the Senate
H.R. 6083
The Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of
2012, a 5-year renewal plan for the Farm Bill proposed in the
House
H.R. 6233
The Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2012, a stand-alone
measure passed in the House to provide relief for farmers
affected by drought
The American Taxpayer
Relief Act of 2012
Legislation passed to avert the Fiscal Cliff, which included a 9month extension of the Farm Bill
Source: National Journal Research, 2012
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Congress Approves Nine-Month Extension After
Failing to Pass New Farm Bill
2012- 2013 Farm Bill Timeline
Level of Excitement around
New Bill Prospects
Senate bill gains
momentum
Senate
Agriculture
Committee
markup of
S. 3240
takes only
five hours
House bill
stalls
Pressure on
House to
follow
Senate lead;
Iowa “in
play”
House divided
over proposed
spending cuts in
H.R. 6083,
leadership
delays move to
floor
Politicking strips
support for
H.R. 6083;
leadership
introduces 1-year
extension of 2008
Farm Bill
June 5,
2012
June 21,
2012
July 12,
2012
July 13,
2012
July 26,
2012
Under pressure to
avert dairy cliff,
Congress adds a 9month extension
of 2008 Farm Bill
to the American
Taxpayer Relief Act
House passes
drought-aid
bill H.R. 6233
as stop-gap
measure
Insufficient votes
collected to pass
extension
Apr. 26,
2012
Extension passes
House committee
markup of H. R.
6083 achieved,
fueling excitement
S. 3240
passed in
Senate with
unusual
bipartisan
support
Votes
collected
quickly for
S. 3240,
which is
brought to
Senate
floor
Previous bill
expires
July 31,
2012
Previous Farm Bill
(H.R. 2419) expires
Aug. 2,
2012
Oct.1,
2012
Source: National Journal Research, 2012; “The Farm Bill Has Expired. Now What?,” Elahe Izadi, National Journal, Oct. 1, 2012; “Here’s What’s in the Fiscal-Cliff Deal,”
Catherine Hollander, National Journal, Jan. 1, 2013.
Jan 1,
2013
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2013 Farm Bill Extension Sparks Controversy
Key Outcomes of the Farm Bill Extension
Provision
Analysis
•
Extension of direct payments to
farmers
•
•
Cuts to Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) participants
Extension of certain programs
without authorization of funding
•
•
•
Direct payments to farmers, subsidies which cost $5B annually, were extended even
though earlier proposals for a new Farm Bill had called for an end to the program
Extension controversial because direct payments are unpopular with farmers, many of
whom want to replace the subsidies with a subsidized farming insurance program
Funding for SNAP Education was cut by a total of $100M for FY 2013 to
offset the cost of extending price supports for dairy producers and avert
the “dairy cliff”
Cuts to SNAP are controversial because disagreement over the size of
cuts between House and Senate members led to a breakdown in
negotiations for a new Farm Bill in 2012
Disaster relief, biofuel development, and soil conservation programs were extended
without authorization of continued funding
Extension controversial because it is unclear where funding will come from if these
programs continue to operate in 2013
Source: “Fiscal Cliff Deal Includes Farm Bill Extension,” David Rogers, Politico, Jan. 1, 2013; “Fiscal Plan Averts ‘Dairy Cliff’, Buys Time for Farm Bill,” Reuters, Jan. 2,
2013; “Farm Bill Extension Evidence of Agriculture Sector’s Lost Political Clout,” Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press, Jan. 3, 2013.
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2013 Extension BenefitsSouthern Farmers, Dairy Processors
Winners and Losers in 2013 Farm Bill Extension
Who
Winners
• Southern agriculture interests
• Large dairy processors
Losers
• National Milk Producers Association
and other agricultural interests
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) advocates
Why
• Southern agricultural rely heavily
on direct payments to farmers
• Dairy processors benefit because
it prevents milk prices from
skyrocketing
• The National Milk Producers
Association view an anti-reform,
stopgap measure that ignored
overhaul calls
• Loses empowerment for families
to buy healthy foods
Source: “Fiscal Cliff Deal Includes Farm Bill Extension,” David Rogers, Politico, Jan. 1, 2013.
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Top Ten Questions…
Why Are So Many on SNAP?
Who Is A Typical SNAP Recipient?
• 83% of SNAP households have gross
income at or below 100% of the poverty
guideline ($19,530 for a family of 3 in
2013)
• 61% of SNAP households have gross
income at or below 75% of the poverty
guideline ($14,648 for a family of 3 in
2013)
Do People on SNAP Work?
Most SNAP families with children have at least
one working adults in the household.
Months An Adult Receives SNAP
in 3 years…3
Aren’t Most on SNAP Forever?
• The typical SNAP recipient is on the program
for an average of 10 months
• Almost two thirds of SNAP recipients are• children
• the elderly
• disabled
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Isn’t There A Lot Of Fraud?
• The trafficking rate in SNAP has dropped
dramatically
• Rate has fallen significantly over the last two
decades, from about 4 cents on the dollar in
1993 to about 1 cent in 2006-08
• The federal government is aggressively
fighting SNAP trafficking
Don’t Most SNAP Participants Buy
Junk Food?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bananas
Whole Milk
2% Milk
Ramen
Hot Dogs
Mac And Cheese
Jiffy Corn Bread Mix
Bottled Water (24 Pack)
Canned Tuna In Water
What Else is in the Farm Bill?
• SNAP-Ed
• Commodity Supplemental Food Program
(CSFP) – Primarily serves seniors citizens
with nutritious USDA foods
• TEFAP –providing food assistance, largely
food banks.
• Department of Defense Fresh Program–
Distributes fresh produce to schools
What Else is in the Farm Bill?
• Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
• Healthy Food Financing Initiative–improve
access to healthy foods in “food deserts”
• Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Program– Provided
to low income schools
• Community Food Projects– Improve access
through innovative projects such as school
garden programs and urban greenhouse
initiatives
• Provides grants to incentivize the purchase of
fruits and vegetables by SNAP participants
Why Have Nutrition Education?
• Everyone does not know how to eat a
healthy diet
• Lives have changed, more stress, less time
to prepare
• Limited resources
• No longer offer home or consumer
economics in school
Farm Bill 2.0
• Passed in the last Congress from the Senate
• Senate took it up early this Congress, passed
in May
• House saw action in June, Agriculture
Committee worked to have a bipartisan bill
• Bill failed in the House with last minute
amendments.
• House removed nutrition title
House and Senate Agriculture Committees Approve
Different Versions of Farm Bill
Jan. 1, 2012
May 9,
2013
MayMarch
10, 2013
August 2,
May 14, 2013
2011
August 5,
May 15, 2013
June 10, 2013
2011
Farm Bill Extension
Passes
House Unveils Competing
Farm Bill Proposal
Houses Committee
Approves Farm Bill
Congress passes 9month extension of
2008 Farm Bill to
avert spiraling dairy
prices known as the
“dairy cliff”
House bill cuts $20.5B from
food stamps; CBO estimates
the bill will save $39.7B over
ten years
House Agriculture
Committee approves
different version of farm
bill, which includes $2.5B
per year in cuts to food
stamps
Senate Unveils New Farm Bill
Proposal
Senate Committee Approves
Farm Bill
The Agriculture Reform, Food
and Jobs Act of 2013 cuts a
total of $23B from agriculture
programs, including cuts due
to sequestration
A $955B proposal for a new
farm bill is approved by
Senate Agriculture Committee
and expected to be taken up
by full Senate the following
week
Source: National Journal Research, 2013
Senate passes Farm Bill
The Agriculture Reform,
Food, and Jobs Act of
2013 (S. 954) passes in
the Senate and is sent to
the House
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Senate Votes in Favor of Farm Bill
2
7
2
18
Dem Yes
Dem No
N/A
Independent Yes
GOP Yes
GOP No
66
Totals
Yes: 66
No: 27
N/A: 7
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Analysis
•The Senate version of the Farm Bill will cost almost $955B over the next decade to fund programs such as crop insurance, food
assistance for low-income families and foreign food aid
•The House will begin drafting its version of the Farm Bill this month, according to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)
•The House version will face more difficult passage and will likely include $20B in cuts to food stamps; last year’s bill failed to pass
the House due to lawmakers’ desire for larger cuts to food stamps
Source: Ron Nixon, “Senate Passes Farm Bill; House Vote is Less Sure,” The New York Times, June 10, 2013.
House and Senate Differences
Program
House
Senate
TEFAP
+217 M
+54 M
CSFP
Transitions the program to serve only
senior citizen populations
Maintains funding authorizations at
current levels (CSFP
SNAP-Ed
Fresh Fruit and
Vegetable
Program
Seniors Farmers
Market
-274 M
Undermines the integrity of the Program
Protects funding
Protects the integrity of the Program
Program was expanded to serve the WIC
Does not consolidate WIC Farmers' Market
Nutrition Program into the Senior Farmers'
Market Nutrition Program;
program remains exactly as it has been
with $20.6m/year through 2018
Source: Congressional Budget Office
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A Little Deeper
Senate reduced SNAP spending by $4 billion
House bill was $20 billion and is now at $40
billion
Minnesota delegation
Amendments to the House Farm Bill
Party
D
R
R
R
Summary
Restores the $20.5 billion cuts in SNAP by
offsetting the Farm Risk Management Election
Program and the Supplemental Coverage Option.
Applies federal welfare work requirements to the
food stamp program, the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program, at state option.
Shortens the SNAP benefit expunging statute and
require a State agency to expunge benefits that
have not been accessed by a household after a
period of 60 days
Requires the USDA to disclose SNAP purchases in
an online, searchable, comparable database.
Source: Office of the Clerk – U.S. House of Representatives
Passed
N
Y
Y (Voice)
N
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• As many as 1.2 million school-age children
eligible for free or reduced-price school
meals would lose SNAP eligibility.
• An estimated 156,000 to approximately
210,000 school-age children would not
receive free school meals despite being
eligible.
• As many as 160,000 to 305,000 more people
could become food insecure
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The House Proposal
• As many as 5.1 million people could lose
SNAP eligibility-1.4 million children and
nearly 900,000 older adults.
• The U.S. poverty rate would increase and
could translate to a growth in medical costs
of nearly $15 billion over ten years for
diabetes alone.
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Next Steps
Support the Minnesota delegation that
carries the message• Senators Klobuchar and Franken
• Representatives
– McCollum
– Walz
– Nolan
– Ellison
– PETERSON
Hope
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