House Committee Approves Agriculture Spending Bill

On June 19, the House Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, the FY2013 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies spending bill (H.R. 5973); the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies advanced the measure on June 6 (see The Source, 6/8/12). On April 26, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the legislation (S. 2375) (see The Source, 4/27/12).

According to the committee report, the legislation would provide a total of $19.4 billion in discretionary funding for domestic and international food programs, the Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies; the FY2013 funding level is $365 million below FY2012 and $1.7 billion less than President Obama’s FY2013 budget request.

The bill would include $79.994 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), $407.927 million below FY2012 and $2.001 billion below the president’s request. In order to “ensure that SNAP serves as a nutrition safety net” for low-income American families, the legislation would tighten restrictions on SNAP eligibility for certain prepared foods and beverages and would examine the effectiveness of incentives designed to encourage recipients to purchase fruits and vegetables (p. 40).

The legislation also would include new provisions intended to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in the SNAP program, such as a requirement for states to include a fraud hotline number on all EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards, language urging the Department of Agriculture to ban fraudulent vendors, and a requirement for states to share SNAP recipient case data with enforcement agencies.

During consideration of the measure, the committee adopted, by voice vote, an amendment by Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) to stipulate that no funds made available under the bill could be used to exclude or restrict the eligibility of any variety of fresh, whole or cut vegetables from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). The amendment would allow WIC participants to use their benefits to purchase potatoes, which are currently excluded from the program.

The chart below compares funding levels for programs important to women and their families in the House and Senate FY2013 spending bills to FY2012 and the president’s request.