Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Farm Bill poised to pass by end of week, with hemp, and without FOIA exemption sought by SNAP retailers

"The compromise Farm Bill unveiled Monday night avoids partisan minefields on food stamps and commodity policy that would have jeopardized its chances of clearing Congress before the end of the year," Catherine Boudreau and Helena Evich report for Politico. "Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees rejected sweeping changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that House Republicans and President Donald Trump had sought, clearing a path for bipartisan support in both chambers. The final bill also sidesteps a Senate attempt to tighten limits on subsidies for wealthier farmers."

The bill also legalizes industrial hemp, a pet project of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. McConnell said in a tweet that he signed the reconciled bill with a pen made of hemp.

The estimated price tag for the Farm Bill is $867 billion over the next decade. Supporters hope the bill can be quickly approved by the House and Senate so President Trump can sign it before next week. If the bill isn't signed by then, it could become a hostage in negotiations on the year-end government spending package.

The bill does not include House language that that would overturn a court ruling allowing the public to see how much Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamp) revenue a retailer gets in a year. The National Newspaper Association, the main lobby for weeklies and small dailies won the battle with the grocery industry and big-box stores. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader has been fighting in court for seven years to get the data.

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