WASHINGTON – Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives
failed to pass its version of a five-year Farm Bill by a vote 195 to 234. Most
Democrats voted against the bill because it cut the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, by more than $20
billion, reports The Hill, while Republicans countered that the bill was simply
too costly.
During debate, U.S. Rep. Thomas Marino (R-PA) offered an
amendment that would have directed the Government Accountability Office to
establish a pilot program to collect and make public data that is currently
required for reporting under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 by those
retailers and stores participating in SNAP. GAO would have then determined if
current reporting requirements could be used to determine the specific food
items being purchased with benefits through SNAP.
“This pilot program simply would have collected the data
that is already required of those retailers and stores currently accepting food
stamps,” Marino said. “It is ironic that my opponents argued that because
there may be a compliance cost for a program that is completely voluntary for
retailers, we should just forgo any meaningful oversight of how these taxpayer
dollars are being spent.”
Although his amendment failed to pass, Marino expressed
support for the convenience store industry: “I am encouraged that I can look
forward to working with members of the National Association of Convenience
Stores — large and small — to find acceptable mechanisms that will provide
greater transparency in the SNAP program.”
Another amendment offered by U.S. Rep. David Schweikert
(R-AZ), sought to strike the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), a
program that provides loans and grants to certain urban and rural retailers
that provide access to healthy foods. The Senate-passed version of the Farm
Bill, however, includes HFFI.
The future of the House Farm Bill is questionable. The House
could go back to the drawing board and rework the bill, or it’s possible that
the House could move ahead into the conference committee process without a bill
and try to negotiate terms with the Senate, which has already passed its
version of the Farm Bill.
The Senate Farm Bill contains language that would allow the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promulgate new rules on what
a convenience store must stock or not stock to be eligible to accept SNAP.
Specifically, it would permit the USDA to consider sales of certain items such
as hot foods, alcohol and tobacco, when evaluating a retailer’s SNAP
application. This criterion is wholly unrelated to achieving the purpose of the
SNAP program. NACS will continue to work to ensure that it does not become law.
The House version did not contain this provision.
Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available. Questions
relating to the Farm Bill can be directed to NACS Government Relations Director
Corey Fitze.