U.S. Congressman James Comer says the 2018 Farm Bill he helped introduce Thursday in the House agriculture committee is the most important piece of legislation to the agriculture industry. The bill increases work requirements for food-stamp benefits, preserves provisions for federal crop insurance and the conservation reserve program. Comer says the biggest change from the 2014 version is work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Comer says implementing work requirements, support for training and transportation for workers who can’t afford gas will need state-level discussions. SNAP accounts for roughly 80 percent of Farm Bill spending. The changes are estimated to impact between 5 and 7 million food-stamp recipients.
“We are focusing on welfare reform now in Congress [...] and what better time in America to get people off welfare and into the workforce than today; where there's a strong economy and to where every community in America has businesses that are trying to find workers.”
