"New Farm Bill Tweaks Commodity Title, Overhauls Conservation"

"House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway on April 12 kicked off a battle over the next farm bill by releasing draft legislation that would make some improvements to major commodity programs, while overhauling conservation policy and making sweeping reforms to nutrition assistance.

The nutrition provisions, which would expand work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, led to an unusually bitter and partisan impasse that forced Conaway to delay planned committee action on the bill in March.

Conaway, R-Texas, said the bill will be numbered H.R. 2, reflecting the importance of the bill to the GOP leadership. Low bill numbers are reserved for major legislation. The tax bill enacted in December was H.R. 1. "

Philip Brasher reports for AgWeek April 12, 2118.

SEE ALSO:

"House Debuts Farm Bill Calling For Big Changes To Food Stamps" (Politico)

"Republican Farm Bill Calls On Many SNAP Recipients To Work Or Go To School" (NPR)

"Farm Bill Is Likely to Set Off a Welfare Fight in Congress" (Bloomberg)

"In Terms of Food Stamps, the Farm Bill Has Something for Everyone" (Governing)

"CRP Likely to Expand by 5 Million Acres in New Farm Bill" (Successful Farming)

"Changes To Federal Food Assistance, Conservation Programs In First Public Farm Bill Draft" (KMUW Wichita NPR)

"House Farm Bill To Gut Environmental Protections For National Forests" (Wilderness Society Release)

"Congressional Budget Office Updates Farm Bill Math" (American Farm Bureau Federation Release)

"Unprecedented Farm Bill Provision Allows EPA to OK Pesticides Without Looking at Harm to Endangered Species" (Center for Biological Diversity Release)