The U.S. Senate is expected to end its debate this week on a bill to renew the Farm Bill which has a big impact on Florida growers. But that a debate over a nutrition program for low income families could keep the bill from getting signed into law for the second year in a row.
The Farm Bill is a behemoth. It outlines farm subsidies, which South Florida’s sugar industry has depended on for decades. This year’s bill also increases funding for Florida crops, such as citrus trees. But nearly eighty percent of the bill goes to nutrition programs, such as food stamps.The Senate bill would cut those food programs by about four hundred million dollars annually, while the House version would cut them by around two point five billion dollars. Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson worries the gulf between the two chambers on nutrition programs is just too wide to overcome.
“It’d be devastating", said Nelson. "It’d also be devastating if they killed the Farm Bill because we’ve got $23 billion of savings in there.”
Republicans argue the nation’s food assistance programs are bloated and need to be trimmed back to cut the national debt. Senate leaders are anxious to pass the Farm Bill this week so they can move on to immigration reform as early as next week. But even after the Senate moves on, the debate over the Farm Bill will be far from over.