House Agriculture Committee Questions USDA Over Proposed SNAP Rule

Discussions emphasized that the rule is in the proposal phase and the Food and Nutrition Service is eager to hear from retailers now.

March 21, 2016

WASHINGTON – During last week’s Government Relations Conference, NACS members met with their legislators to share their concerns about the Food and Nutrition Service’s (FNS) recently proposed changes to the retailer requirements for participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). NACS is already seeing the successful results of their Hill advocacy efforts.

During a two-day House Agriculture Committee hearing examining the Department of Agriculture (which oversees FNS), lawmakers from both parties questioned witnesses, including Kevin Concannon, Undersecretary of Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, about the proposed rule. It was clear from the discussions that many lawmakers are troubled by the proposed rule, which contains requirements that would be so burdensome on small format retailers that they may stop participating in SNAP.

Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) pressed Undersecretary Concannon to clarify how many varieties of items retailers would have to stock and in what volume, noting that at a convenience store “shelf space is at a premium.” Nutrition Subcommittee Chair Jackie Walorksi (R-IN) criticized a provision in the proposal that would automatically kick retailers out of SNAP if 15% or more of the business’s total food sales are in hot prepared foods, despite the fact that a store might have “jumped through hoops” to meet the stocking requirements. Other members worried that many SNAP beneficiaries would be harmed if small format retailers were pushed out of the program, since many times beneficiaries’ only source of nutrition access may be their local neighborhood store.

Faced with these questions, Undersecretary Concannon emphasized that the rule is in the proposal phase and the agency is eager to listen to retailers to ensure the final rule would reflect reality. FNS will benefits from hearing from small format retailers; when asked by Chairman Conaway whether anyone on the FNS team drafting the proposed rule had “retail experience,” he answered no.

Comments on the proposed rule are currently due on April 18. However, after being pressed by Chairman Conaway and Subcommittee Chairwoman Walorski to extend the comment period, Undersecretary Concannon noted that an announcement on whether an extension will be granted is imminent.

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