And while the House of Representatives last week passed its version of the five-year bill, it did so without the federal food stamp portion of the bill for the first time in decades. That decision has put the process in disarray, and left farmers skittish about what sort of federal legislation will ultimately exist to protect them should disaster strike.
“Right now, it’s not impacting any decisions,” Harbage said. “but it’s certainly on my mind.”
The farm bill – traditionally one of the more bipartisan measures in Congress – has typically been one of the more pro forma measures passed in Congress, with divisions occurring more on geographic lines than partisan ones.
But in recent years, federal nutrition programs – which now represent roughly 80 percent of the bill’s costs – have divided conservatives, who’d like to see that money cut, and liberals, who say that nutrition assistance provides an invaluable safety net to the country’s poor.
Last month, the House tried to pass a bill that cut $20.5 billion during the next decade out of the federal food stamp program. Some 62 conservatives voted against it, saying the cuts weren’t enough. Democrats, meanwhile, unified against it because they said the cuts would be devastating to families who need the assistance to live. The Senate, meanwhile, passed a bill in June that cut food stamps by about $4 billion over a decade.
Congress has until Sept. 30 to iron out differences and agree to a final bill, and it’s unclear whether the final product will include food stamps or not. If Congress can’t reach an agreement, it’s possible that both programs will revert to permanent law. Ironically, that would mean conservatives who wanted to cut the food stamp program wouldn’t see any cuts.
Those who wanted cuts to food stamps beyond the $20.5 billion, said Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, “gave away the store….they’re going to have an education here, because they’re not going to get what they want to get.”
Gibbs voted for the most recent farm bill, but did so with grave reservations, including hesitations about the bill’s handling of target prices.
What’s left behind is a headache that many Ohio farmers and organizations representing farmers say they could do without. They wrangled with the same uncertainty when the 2008 farm bill expired last year, only to have Congress pass a one-year extension. And now they’re back in the same position.
“I would like to see the House come up with a bill that can actually get through the conference and get through the Senate,” said Preble County farmer Lane Osswald, 37, of Eldorado. He farms about 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans and said he has a feeling of “uneasiness, uncertainty” about what’s going on in Congress.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, said splitting the food stamp program and farm programs ultimately offered the best chance of getting the “real reform needed in both bills.”
“Look, we need to save money,” he said. “But to me what’s more important is reforms that in the long-term save money. He said he advocates having a “real work requirement,” as well as time limits to receiving benefits.
Among those who opposed splitting the farm bill were the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union.
They say that the alliance is a practical and political one. Farmers, after all, provide food for the country – and that includes both poor and wealthy. But politically, they also need to ensure that they’ll have votes from lawmakers representing urban districts. The marriage, they say, has been a practical one that ensures even lawmakers with little knowledge of federal farm programs have a good reason to vote for the bill.
“Everyone has to have skin in the game in order to get it passed,” said Fred Yoder, a Plain City farmer.
Clark County farmer Jay Flax said he believes food stamps “should never have been part of the farm bill,” but worries about what happens if the programs are split apart. “I’m afraid if they go splitting it up, the farm part of the bill will take a really big hit,” he said.
Those representing the poor, meanwhile, are also outraged. They say the original House bill – which cut $20.5 billion from federal nutrition programs over a decade – was overly harsh. Nearly one in six Americans rely on food stamps. Among Ohioans, that represents the poorest of the poor – those earning $931 a month or less, according to Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Food Banks, who said 1.9 million Ohioans currently participate in the food stamp program.
“This is a continuing war on the poor,” she said, calling the program “the first line of defense against hunger.”
Harbage, who farms corn, soybean and cattle, questions whether Congress has forgotten what he believes should be one of its primary roles: Making sure there’s a safe, reliable supply of food, and making sure everyone has access to that supply.
“The bottom line is food safety and security is where we need to come together,” he said. “I don’t see any two more important issues for the United States.”
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