House Committee Passes Farm Bill
Last week, the House Agriculture Committee advanced H.R. 2,
the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 to reauthorize the Farm Bill. The
bill passed on a party-line vote of 26-20. While AASA does not take a position
on the bill itself, we are very concerned about the bill’s effects on crucial nutrition
programs, including school lunch and breakfast programs. As advocates for
students, we are very concerned about the bill’s impacts on the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps. The bill imposes
stricter work requirements for SNAP recipients than previous bills. This would
cause one million households – including many with children – to lose their
SNAP benefits or have them reduced. This will further increase food insecurity
among students.
Additionally, the bill narrows the categorical eligibility
option, which allows states to raise the threshold for eligibility for SNAP.
This would also impact direct certification for school lunch and breakfast programs.
If this change were to go into effect, the Congressional Budget Office estimates
that some 265,000 children would lose free school meals.