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House Ag Committee passes farm bill

The House Agriculture Committee has passed its version of the farm bill by a vote of 26 to 20.

Most of the debate centered around food stamp reforms proposed by Republicans, with work requirements and training programs being tied to SNAP benefits. Republican Representative Bob Gibbs of Ohio defended those changes.

“Businesses are so in need of workers and there’s such a thirst out there to do this,” Gibbs said. “This really helps get people the help to help themselves.”

But Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said Democrats were not given the opportunity to provide input on those SNAP provisions.

“The chair said, ‘we want to work with you’. Well, you really didn’t,” McGovern said. “I mean, we were notified about this at the last minute. Our input wasn’t valued.”

The committee adopted 17 amendments to the bill, including one proposed by Iowa Representative Steve King pertaining to California’s stringent animal housing requirements. The amendment, which is similar to one adopted by the committee in 2013, would prevent states from regulating how foods are grown or processed in other states.

The farm bill now moves to the full House. The Senate Agriculture Committee has not yet introduced its version of a farm bill for consideration.