House panel set to OK cut in food stamps
House panel set to OK cut in food stamps as conservatives demand that the program be trimmed
Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 14, 2013, during the committee's hearing on the Farm Bill, officially known as the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013. This is the third year in a row that farm-state lawmakers have tried to push the bill through; though it passed the Senate, the House declined to take up the bill last year after conservatives in that chamber objected to the bill's cost and insisted on higher cuts to food stamps. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House Agriculture Committee is set to consider small cuts to the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program in an effort to appease conservatives who say the food aid has become too expensive.
The cuts are part of a massive five-year farm bill that costs almost $100 billion annually and would set policy for farm subsidies, rural programs and the food aid. The House panel will consider the bill Wednesday, one day after the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version.
The House bill would cut about $2.5 billion a year to the food stamp program, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The Senate approved much smaller cuts to the program, amounting to about $400 million a year.
