What to expect in the Senate farm bill floor debate, including amendments to watch out for
From CBPP (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities):
We expect the Senate to start with a procedural vote on the farm bill on Monday evening, which means the floor debate will start on Tuesday. Voting on amendments will likely run from Tuesday through Thursday afternoon, with a final vote on passage on Thursday afternoon if things go as expected.
As we shared above, we are very concerned that amendments could be offered during the Senate floor debate to cut SNAP or make harmful changes that would take away food assistance from struggling families who need help. And if we lose on any Senate amendments that enact harmful policies already contained in the House farm bill, it will be much harder to undo the damage when the House and Senate are negotiating the final bill.
The Senate floor debate will be very fluid, and things will likely happen with short notice. We will probably see a lot of amendments filed on the bill next week, but it will be hard to know in advance which of them will actually get votes. At this time, the message to senators remains the same: Please support the bipartisan Senate farm bill that protects and strengthens SNAP and oppose any amendments that would cut SNAP or make harmful changes that would take away food assistance from struggling families who need help.
Based on the House farm bill debate and previous farm bill debates in the Senate, we’ll be keeping an eye out for amendments that would:
* Limit state flexibility by taking away options for states to waive the existing SNAP time limit
Under current law, SNAP participants between the ages of 18 to 50 who are not raising minor children cannot receive benefits for more than three months in a 36-month period unless they work at least 20 hours a week. The House farm bill would limit state flexibility to request waivers from the time limit, and Sen. Ernst (R-IA) filed an amendment during the Senate Agriculture Committee markup that would make similar changes to the waiver policy (Sen. Ernst’s amendment was not voted on in the markup). Under this proposal, some 30 states would lose waivers, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people being cut off SNAP.
* Allow states to turn all SNAP operations to private corporations, despite disastrous results in states that have tried this before
This policy was incorporated into the House farm bill, and Sen. Ernst (R-IA) filed a similar amendment during the Senate Agriculture Committee markup (Sen. Ernst’s amendment was not voted on in the markup). As we explain in this CBPP blog post, shifting core SNAP functions such as eligibility determination to private workers can leave needy families without vital food assistance and compromise the security of SNAP participants’ data.
* Deny food assistance to individuals with certain criminal convictions and their families
Current law denies SNAP to individuals previously found guilty of a violent crime if, after their release from prison, they violate the terms of their release. The House farm bill would deny food assistance to all individuals with convictions for certain violent crimes, even if they served their time, have complied with their parole, and are working hard to avoid recidivism and become productive members of their communities. We and allies working on policies that promote second chances for those who’ve been entangled in the criminal justice system are strongly opposed to this proposal. It is a cruel, racially-motivated move that would make it harder for people who’ve served their time — and already struggle to find a job with a criminal record — to reenter our communities and live a life where their basic needs are met. This provision was added to the House farm bill during the House floor debate, and a similar amendment was adopted (but ultimately not enacted) during the 2013 Senate farm bill debate. At the time, CBPP wrote about that Senate amendment here.
We expect the Senate to start with a procedural vote on the farm bill on Monday evening, which means the floor debate will start on Tuesday. Voting on amendments will likely run from Tuesday through Thursday afternoon, with a final vote on passage on Thursday afternoon if things go as expected.
As we shared above, we are very concerned that amendments could be offered during the Senate floor debate to cut SNAP or make harmful changes that would take away food assistance from struggling families who need help. And if we lose on any Senate amendments that enact harmful policies already contained in the House farm bill, it will be much harder to undo the damage when the House and Senate are negotiating the final bill.
The Senate floor debate will be very fluid, and things will likely happen with short notice. We will probably see a lot of amendments filed on the bill next week, but it will be hard to know in advance which of them will actually get votes. At this time, the message to senators remains the same: Please support the bipartisan Senate farm bill that protects and strengthens SNAP and oppose any amendments that would cut SNAP or make harmful changes that would take away food assistance from struggling families who need help.
Based on the House farm bill debate and previous farm bill debates in the Senate, we’ll be keeping an eye out for amendments that would:
* Limit state flexibility by taking away options for states to waive the existing SNAP time limit
Under current law, SNAP participants between the ages of 18 to 50 who are not raising minor children cannot receive benefits for more than three months in a 36-month period unless they work at least 20 hours a week. The House farm bill would limit state flexibility to request waivers from the time limit, and Sen. Ernst (R-IA) filed an amendment during the Senate Agriculture Committee markup that would make similar changes to the waiver policy (Sen. Ernst’s amendment was not voted on in the markup). Under this proposal, some 30 states would lose waivers, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people being cut off SNAP.
* Allow states to turn all SNAP operations to private corporations, despite disastrous results in states that have tried this before
This policy was incorporated into the House farm bill, and Sen. Ernst (R-IA) filed a similar amendment during the Senate Agriculture Committee markup (Sen. Ernst’s amendment was not voted on in the markup). As we explain in this CBPP blog post, shifting core SNAP functions such as eligibility determination to private workers can leave needy families without vital food assistance and compromise the security of SNAP participants’ data.
* Deny food assistance to individuals with certain criminal convictions and their families
Current law denies SNAP to individuals previously found guilty of a violent crime if, after their release from prison, they violate the terms of their release. The House farm bill would deny food assistance to all individuals with convictions for certain violent crimes, even if they served their time, have complied with their parole, and are working hard to avoid recidivism and become productive members of their communities. We and allies working on policies that promote second chances for those who’ve been entangled in the criminal justice system are strongly opposed to this proposal. It is a cruel, racially-motivated move that would make it harder for people who’ve served their time — and already struggle to find a job with a criminal record — to reenter our communities and live a life where their basic needs are met. This provision was added to the House farm bill during the House floor debate, and a similar amendment was adopted (but ultimately not enacted) during the 2013 Senate farm bill debate. At the time, CBPP wrote about that Senate amendment here.
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