WASHINGTON – Last night, the House Agriculture Committee passed its version of the 2013 Farm Bill. 

Consideration by the House panel comes just a day after the Senate Nutrition and Forestry Committee approved its version of the Farm Bill. Unlike the Senate bill, the House version does not contain a provision that NACS vehemently opposes, which would grant the Department of Agriculture (USDA) full discretion to prevent convenience stores from accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (formerly known as food stamps) if they have excessive sales of alcohol, tobacco or hot food. The House bill does achieve $20 billion in savings through cuts to SNAP, which Democrats strongly opposed but could not garner enough votes to overturn.

The Senate’s provision is similar to language in last year’s Farm Bill (which was ultimately not enacted into law) that would have prohibited any food retailer from participating in the SNAP program if 45% or more of the retailer’s revenue is derived from the combined sales of hot food, alcohol and tobacco. NACS opposes any language that would give the USDA the authority to arbitrarily prevent stores that otherwise meet all of SNAP’s eligibility criteria from participating in the program — simply because USDA bureaucrats do not approve of other lawful activities in which the retailers participate.

NACS has been diligently educating members of Congress and their staff in both the House and Senate about how essential the SNAP program is to convenience stores and their less affluent customers. This is particularly true in rural communities where economically challenged Americans have few places to shop for food, and urban communities where few food stores are open late at night. 

House Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) is suggesting that he will bring the 2013 Farm Bill to the House Floor “sometime this summer.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has expressed a desire to bring the 2013 Farm Bill to the Senate floor quickly.  If the two bills pass their respective chambers, the differences in language will be ironed out in a conference committee.