Sparks Fly Over SNAP Penalties as Senate Farm Bill Faces Uncertain Path Ahead

(NAFB) – Sparks flew after Senate Ag voted out the farm bill Wednesday on a straight party-line vote, signaling an uncertain path ahead for a bill that was due three years ago.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune scolded Ag Democrats for rejecting a farm bill they helped craft over a 1-year instead of 2-year delay of SNAP overpayment penalties.
“If the Democrats…if this doesn’t go anywhere and current law stays in effect, the states, many of them represented on the committee, are going to pay a total of 17 (B) billion dollars more. So, some of you sitting here, you ought to check with your state and find out how much more you’re going to pay if this bill doesn’t pass.”
Democrats insisted they want a farm bill to pass, but still all voted ‘no’ as Republicans, with Mitch McConnell back, had the 12 votes needed to prevail.
New Mexico’s Ben Ray Luján argued there are two sides to the SNAP dispute.
“A one-year delay kicks in to the process a higher state contribution factor on the back-end years. And so, if the states don’t do something over the next year. And I hope to God they do, they’re going to pay more forever, until the next farm bill comes!”
North Dakota Republican and Ag Appropriations Chair John Hoeven pointedly told Democrats they were already getting a 2-year delay with the 1-year originally in the bill.
“If they want to keep working on further delays, they have every opportunity to do that. But our farmers and ranchers need help now.”
A sentiment Democrats agreed with but still insisted SNAP penalty timing had to be eased 2 years for all, not just very high-error states, before they’ll provide the votes to take up the farm bill on the Senate floor.