It’s Not Old McDonald’s Farm Anymore

3

Landscape…113th Congress• Few occupy the center-most cluster near

the ideological extremes• Polarization is at the highest level since

Reconstruction• Many have never served in public office• Effectiveness measured how many

wrenches are thrown into the process• Deficit drives competitive wedges with

partners

Political Landscape…State• States face unprecedented budget

concerns

• Budget cut targets:• Medicaid• Education• State workforce• Sequestration

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More than Farm…

Overview of 2012 Farm Bill Legislation

Source: National Journal Research, 2012 7

S. 3240 The Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, a 5-year renewal plan for the Farm Bill passed in the Senate

H.R. 6083 The Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2012, a 5-year renewal plan for the Farm Bill proposed in the House

H.R. 6233 The Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2012, a stand-alone measure passed in the House to provide relief for farmers affected by drought

Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008

A $288B bill passed in 2008. The Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 expired on October 1, 2012Expired

Farm Bill

Proposals for new Farm Bill in 2012

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012

Farm Bill Extension

Legislation passed to avert the Fiscal Cliff, which included a 9-month extension of the Farm Bill

Congress Approves Nine-Month Extension After Failing to Pass New Farm Bill

Source: National Journal Research, 2012; “The Farm Bill Has Expired. Now What?,” Elahe Izadi, National Journal, Oct. 1, 2012; “Here’s What’s in the Fiscal-Cliff Deal,” Catherine Hollander, National Journal, Jan. 1, 2013. 8

2012- 2013 Farm Bill Timeline

Politicking strips support for H.R. 6083; leadership

introduces 1-year extension of 2008

Farm Bill

House divided over proposed

spending cuts in H.R. 6083, leadership

delays move to floor

Leve

l of E

xcite

men

t aro

und

New

Bill

Pro

spec

ts

Senate Agriculture Committee markup of

S. 3240 takes only five hours

Senate bill gains momentum

House bill stalls

S. 3240 passed in

Senate with unusual

bipartisan support

House committee markup of H. R. 6083 achieved,

fueling excitement

July 12,2012

Apr. 26, 2012

June 5, 2012

June 21,2012

Aug. 2,2012

House passes drought-aid

bill H.R. 6233 as stop-gap

measure

Insufficient votes collected to pass

extension

July 26,2012

July 31,2012

Votes collected

quickly for S. 3240, which is

brought to Senate floor

July 13,2012

Pressure on House to follow Senate lead;

Iowa “in play”

Oct.1,2012

Previous Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) expires

Previous bill expires

Extension passes

Jan 1,2013

Under pressure to avert dairy cliff,

Congress adds a 9-month extension of

2008 Farm Bill to the American

Taxpayer Relief Act

2013 Farm Bill Extension Sparks Controversy

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Provision Analysis

Extension of direct payments to farmers

• Direct payments to farmers, subsidies which cost $5B annually, were extended even though earlier proposals for a new Farm Bill had called for an end to the program

• Extension controversial because direct payments are unpopular with farmers, many of whom want to replace the subsidies with a subsidized farming insurance program

Cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants

• Funding for SNAP Education was cut by a total of $100M for FY 2013 to offset the cost of extending price supports for dairy producers and avert the “dairy cliff”

• Cuts to SNAP are controversial because disagreement over the size of cuts between House and Senate members led to a breakdown in negotiations for a new Farm Bill in 2012

Extension of certain programs without authorization of funding

• Disaster relief, biofuel development, and soil conservation programs were extended without authorization of continued funding

• Extension controversial because it is unclear where funding will come from if these programs continue to operate in 2013

Key Outcomes of the Farm Bill Extension

Source: “Fiscal Cliff Deal Includes Farm Bill Extension,” David Rogers, Politico, Jan. 1, 2013; “Fiscal Plan Averts ‘Dairy Cliff’, Buys Time for Farm Bill,” Reuters, Jan. 2, 2013; “Farm Bill Extension Evidence of Agriculture Sector’s Lost Political Clout,” Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press, Jan. 3, 2013.

2013 Extension Benefits-Southern Farmers, Dairy Processors

Source: “Fiscal Cliff Deal Includes Farm Bill Extension,” David Rogers, Politico, Jan. 1, 2013.

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Winners and Losers in 2013 Farm Bill Extension

• Southern agriculture interests• Large dairy processors

• Southern agricultural rely heavily on direct payments to farmers

• Dairy processors benefit because it prevents milk prices from skyrocketing

• National Milk Producers Association and other agricultural interests

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) advocates

• The National Milk Producers Association view an anti-reform, stopgap measure that ignored overhaul calls

• Loses empowerment for families to buy healthy foods

Winners

Losers

Who Why

Top Ten Questions…

Why Are So Many on SNAP?

Who Is A Typical SNAP Recipient?

• 83% of SNAP households have gross income at or below 100% of the poverty guideline ($19,530 for a family of 3 in 2013)

• 61% of SNAP households have gross income at or below 75% of the poverty guideline ($14,648 for a family of 3 in 2013)

Do People on SNAP Work?

Most SNAP families with children have at least one working adults in the household.

Months An Adult Receives SNAP in 3 years…3

Aren’t Most on SNAP Forever?• The typical SNAP recipient is on the

program for an average of 10 months

• Almost two thirds of SNAP recipients are-

• children• the elderly• disabled

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Isn’t There A Lot Of Fraud?• The trafficking rate in SNAP has

dropped dramatically • Rate has fallen significantly over the

last two decades, from about 4 cents on the dollar in 1993 to about 1 cent in 2006-08

• The federal government is aggressively fighting SNAP trafficking 

Don’t Most SNAP Participants Buy Junk Food?

• Bananas• Whole Milk • 2% Milk• Ramen• Hot Dogs• Mac And Cheese• Jiffy Corn Bread Mix• Bottled Water (24 Pack) • Canned Tuna In Water

What Else is in the Farm Bill?• SNAP-Ed• Commodity Supplemental Food

Program (CSFP) – Primarily serves seniors citizens with nutritious USDA foods

• TEFAP –providing food assistance, largely food banks.

• Department of Defense Fresh Program– Distributes fresh produce to schools

What Else is in the Farm Bill?

• Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.• Healthy Food Financing Initiative–improve

access to healthy foods in “food deserts”• Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Program– Provided

to low income schools• Community Food Projects– Improve access

through innovative projects such as school garden programs and urban greenhouse initiatives

• Provides grants to incentivize the purchase of fruits and vegetables by SNAP participants

Why Have Nutrition Education?

• Everyone does not know how to eat a healthy diet

• Lives have changed, more stress, less time to prepare

• Limited resources

• No longer offer home or consumer economics in school

Farm Bill 2.0• Passed in the last Congress from the

Senate• Senate took it up early this Congress,

passed in May• House saw action in June, Agriculture

Committee worked to have a bipartisan bill

• Bill failed in the House with last minute amendments.

• House removed nutrition title

House and Senate Agriculture Committees Approve Different Versions of Farm Bill

Source: National Journal Research, 2013 24

Jan. 1, 2012 May 9, 2013 March August 2,

2011August 5,

2011

Farm Bill Extension Passes

Congress passes 9-month extension of

2008 Farm Bill to avert spiraling dairy prices known as the

“dairy cliff”

Senate Unveils New Farm Bill Proposal

The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 cuts a

total of $23B from agriculture programs, including cuts due to

sequestration

May 10, 2013 May 14, 2013

House Unveils Competing Farm Bill Proposal

House bill cuts $20.5B from food stamps; CBO estimates the bill will save $39.7B over

ten years

May 15, 2013 June 10, 2013

Senate Committee Approves Farm Bill

A $955B proposal for a new farm bill is approved by

Senate Agriculture Committee and expected to be taken up by full Senate the following

week

Houses Committee Approves Farm Bill

House Agriculture Committee approves

different version of farm bill, which includes $2.5B per year in cuts to food

stamps

Senate passes Farm Bill

The Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of

2013 (S. 954) passes in the Senate and is sent to

the House

Senate Votes in Favor of Farm Bill

Source: Ron Nixon, “Senate Passes Farm Bill; House Vote is Less Sure,” The New York Times, June 10, 2013.

Analysis•The Senate version of the Farm Bill will cost almost $955B over the next decade to fund programs such as crop insurance, food assistance for low-income families and foreign food aid•The House will begin drafting its version of the Farm Bill this month, according to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)•The House version will face more difficult passage and will likely include $20B in cuts to food stamps; last year’s bill failed to pass the House due to lawmakers’ desire for larger cuts to food stamps

Dem No

GOP Yes

N/A

Dem Yes

Independent Yes

GOP No

66

2 7 2

18

25TotalsYes: 66 No: 27N/A: 7

House and Senate Differences

Source: Congressional Budget Office 26

Program House Senate TEFAP +217 M +54 MCSFP Transitions the program to serve only

senior citizen populationsMaintains funding authorizations at current levels (CSFP

SNAP-Ed -274 M Protects fundingFresh Fruit and Vegetable Program

Undermines the integrity of the Program Protects the integrity of the Program

Seniors Farmers Market

Program was expanded to serve the WIC Does not consolidate WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program into the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program; program remains exactly as it has been with $20.6m/year through 2018

A Little DeeperSenate reduced SNAP spending by $4

billion

House bill was $20 billion and is now at $40 billion

Minnesota delegation

Amendments to the House Farm Bill

Source: Office of the Clerk – U.S. House of Representatives 28

Party Summary Passed

D Restores the $20.5 billion cuts in SNAP by offsetting the Farm Risk Management Election Program and the Supplemental Coverage Option.

N

RApplies federal welfare work requirements to the food stamp program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, at state option.

Y

R

Shortens the SNAP benefit expunging statute and require a State agency to expunge benefits that have not been accessed by a household after a period of 60 days

Y (Voice)

R Requires the USDA to disclose SNAP purchases in an online, searchable, comparable database.

N

• As many as 1.2 million school-age children eligible for free or reduced-price school meals would lose SNAP eligibility.

• An estimated 156,000 to approximately 210,000 school-age children would not receive free school meals despite being eligible.

• As many as 160,000 to 305,000 more people could become food insecure 29

The House Proposal• As many as 5.1 million people could

lose SNAP eligibility-1.4 million children and nearly 900,000 older adults.

• The U.S. poverty rate would increase and could translate to a growth in medical costs of nearly $15 billion over ten years for diabetes alone.

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Next Steps

Support the Minnesota delegation that carries the message-• Senators Klobuchar and Franken• Representatives

– McCollum– Walz– Nolan– Ellison– PETERSON

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Hope