Eric Cantor appears to be getting his way on splitting the farm bill.
It looks like the hardcore extremists among House Republicans will get their way once again. Roll Call
reports that Republican leadership has decided to split food stamps off from the farm bill, holding a vote on the farm components of the bill quickly and attempting once again to slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to the bone at a later date. One of the key Republicans who had opposed the split bill is now on board:
House Agriculture Chairman Frank D. Lucas said Tuesday morning that he would support splitting the farm bill—as long as it can pass the House.
“I’m willing to do what it takes to get a farm bill done,” Lucas said as he exited a Republican Conference meeting Tuesday morning. “If that means doing it unconventionally, maybe we got to give it a try.”
Of course, it's not at all clear that Republican leadership knows what can pass the House, given the unpleasant surprise they got on the previous farm bill vote, a surprise for which House Majority Leader Eric Cantor appears to have moved from blaming Democrats to
blaming Republican committee chairs, seven of whom voted against it.
In addition to splitting the nutrition part of the farm bill off into a separate bill, Republicans plan "a repeal of the 1949 law that requires the passage or extension of a farm bill." Making things easier for themselves for the future and cutting a program that feeds millions of unemployed, working poor, disabled, or elderly adults as well as millions of children—doesn't that just sound like a Republican wet dream. Of course, there's the small issue that the Senate already passed a traditional single farm bill and isn't going to go along with the kind of deep cuts to SNAP that House Republicans want. But let's be serious, House Republicans are fine with an impasse, as long as they've gotten to show off how much they hate poor people.
Wed Jul 10, 2013 at 12:19 PM PT: Tell Congress: Put low-income families ahead of corporate welfare and oppose all cuts to food stamps.