Two influential conservative groups associated with the billionaire Koch brothers urged Congress to reform parts of the proposed farm bill that Republicans in the House have been writing for months.
Freedom Partners and Americans For Prosperity (AFP) decried the proposed Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, the latest iteration of the farm bill authorization bill that must pass every four to six years, as “rife with corporate welfare” and contrary to President Donald Trump’s plans for the budget.
“[N]ot one of the President’s agriculture proposals made it into this bill,” the letter dated Thursday said. “This isn’t acceptable.”
The farm funding bill in authorizes programs for the Department of Agriculture. In recent years, the bill has been passed through congressional coalition of nutrition welfare advocates — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as food stamps is part of the bill — and farm subsidy and crop insurance program supporters.
AFP and Freedom Partners praised the portions of the farm bill that deals with food stamps, but say the farm portion of the bill is reckless and will continue to expand federal spending.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated Wednesday that the total bill would increase spending by a total of $3.2 billion over between 2019-2023 if all the programs are funded. The bill extends a number of programs from previous farm bills that cost in total $387 billion, not counting any changes in the current farm bill, between the end of 2018 and 2023.
SNAP spending would actually increase slightly over the next decade, according to the estimates. The CBO estimates that changing eligibility for food stamps and adding work requirements for certain people would save $9.2 billion over the next decade, but the program’s administrative costs would increase by $7.7 billion. Congress would also expand workforce training programs and grants for education, meaning federal spending would increase by $1.8 billion in the food stamps program.
The proposed legislation expands price protection programs, often called subsidies, for agriculture commodities, something Freedom Partners and the American Enterprise Institute says “primarily benefit very wealthy owners of large farm businesses at the expense of ordinary taxpayers and consumers.”
“Regrettably, badly needed reforms here are entirely absent,” the letter says.
Many commodity coverage programs are extended in the new farm bill, and the “lavish” subsidies “already vastly exceed a reasonable safety net,” according to AFP and Freedom Partners. “The bill also makes it easier for multiple owners of large farm corporations to receive subsidies.”
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