It is going to be payback time when the next major legislative hurtle – the farm bill – comes before House and Senate members. As I highlighted in my commentary last month, the contentious verbal battle and debate over the Supplemental Nutrition Appropriations Program (SNAP) during discussions on the debt ceiling law that Congress passed last month left a very sour taste in the mouths of some lawmakers. The issue, you will recall, was all about mandating new work requirements for SNAP beneficiaries. Republicans wanted new work requirements and Democrats were opposed. A compromise was reached but again, not everyone was happy.
Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said firmly that any further changes around SNAP are “done” and will not be revisited in the upcoming farm bill. But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, in dramatic words touting the House’s passage of the debt bill, said to expect a bruising farm bill battle over SNAP. “Let’s get the rest of the work requirements,” he concluded. These words from both stalwarts in the House and Senate are laying the groundwork for what is anticipated to be a major tug of war between House and Senate Republicans and Democrats during the upcoming farm bill reauthorization process later this summer.
What’s Next With The Farm Bill?
Politico summed it all up quite succinctly when they said that some House Republican hardliners are even more eager to push stricter SNAP work requirements in the farm bill after they felt the debt agreement between Biden and McCarthy “watered down” what was in their original bill. And remember, last month I cited the huge increase in costs of the SNAP program as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported and projected that all the SNAP work requirement changes in the debt bill will increase spending and enrollment for the program – which Republicans have been trying to cut.
We at Policy Solutions forecast delays in drafting the next farm bill from the Senate and House ag committees. Why? Because the next farm bill is expected to have a price tag of $1.5 trillion (yes – trillion) and the process is already behind schedule due to wrangling about the debt ceiling. A draft bill may, however, surface before the August recess or no later than September. Still at critical crossroads will be the budget costs, continued sour grapes about the SNAP work requirements contained in the debt ceiling legislation, and the CBO cost projections. In the meantime, the House committee on agriculture has been doing their due diligence by soliciting feedback from non-government folks including farmers, ranchers, foresters, producers, processors, and consumers for the 2023 reauthorization of the farm bill. That is a lot of “sausage” being thrown into the legislative mix as major battle lines get drawn so stay tuned.
It’s Back
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have announced that they plan to repropose legislation that would give retailers the power to process many VISA and Mastercard credit cards over different networks. You may recall that an identical measure was introduced last summer and highlighted in my commentary at that time. The bill was then referred to the Senate banking committee where it sat and did not get a vote. Why? Simply because the powerful banking lobbyists were hard at work.
This time around, more than 2,000 companies and several hundred trade groups representing food stores, convenience stores and general merchandise retailers are calling for the passage of this new legislation that could lower credit and debit card swipe fees. The bicameral Credit Card Competition Act, which is the title for the new legislative initiative, is now gathering steam and supported by both Democrats and Republicans. What is making a difference this time around is referred to as basic “Lobbying 101” – efforts by small businesses who are working very hard reaching out to lawmakers to support the measure. If anything, it proves that bombarding legislators with letters, e-mails, and phone calls does have an impact!
What is the focus of the debate? The present system disproportionately impacts small businesses including thousands of small food retailers simply because VISA and Mastercard will not negotiate transaction fees. Industry trade association FMI says the new legislation will give retailers more negotiating power, by “requiring more than one- routing network would foster competition and security and redundancy – bringing down the cost of the swipe fees, increasing transparency of terms, encouraging innovative services and fraud protection, and ensuring another pathway should the one existing pathway be unavailable or clogged.”
Attention readers: get your public affairs people actively involved in this issue by reaching out to your elected officials in Washington to let them know how you stand on the legislation which will increase credit card competition and thus lower the fees you pay.
SNAP Goes Online
The Department of Agriculture announced last month that online purchasing using SNAP benefits is now available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This expansion represents a major milestone in the history of SNAP and continues to provide greater convenience and access to healthy food options for tens of millions of needy Americans.
In April 2023, nearly 3.7 million SNAP households shopped online, which is a substantial increase from March 2020, when about 35,000 SNAP households shopped online. For more information about the program and a full list of retailers approved to provide SNAP online purchasing, visit www.fns.usda.gov/snap.
More Tools for Food Traceability Rule
By now hopefully you know from my prior commentary all about the Food Traceability Rule that goes into effect on January 20, 2026. While it may appear to be a long way off, complying with the new rule is not something one wants to wait to the last minute to facilitate the oversight requirements that will be required. So, to help you along, the FDA has posted new frequently asked questions and answers and additional tools to provide the food industry with more information about the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Food Traceability Rule.
The Food Traceability Rule is designed to facilitate faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from the marketplace, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and deaths. For more information, go to the FDA website at www.fda.gov and search for “food traceability.”
Dietary Guidance On Food Labels
The FDA announced last month that the agency is extending the comment period for the draft guidance for industry entitled “Questions and Answers about Dietary Guidance Statements in Food Labeling” that originally appeared in the Federal Register on March 27, 2023. The new deadline for comments is now September 25, 2023. The FDA is extending the comment period by 90 days in response to multiple requests from stakeholders to allow additional time for interested persons to develop and submit comments. Comments should be submitted to www.Regulations.gov and identified with the docket number FDA-2023-D-1027.
And over at USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an announcement was recently made that the agency is going to consider implementing higher standards for meats sold in food stores that are labeled as “humanely raised” or antibiotic-free claims that are often exaggerated. Consumer groups have long said that the FSIS rules are too lax. The endgame is to eliminate confusion and misuse of label information that tends to confuse consumers and/or cause them to pay more for certain meat products.
Better Food Handling In Retail Delis
USDA is issuing a new best-practices guide to help retailers prevent the spread of listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods that are prepared or sliced in retail delicatessens, according to Meatingplace. The FSIS said that its downloadable document entitled “Best Practices Guidance for Controlling Listeria Monocytogenes in Retail Delicatessens“ also identifies ready-to-eat foods like deli meats and deli salads that are consumed in the home that may be affected. The document also features information from FDA’s Food Code that retailers can use to better control potential cross-contamination and the spread of Listeria. For more information, my friends, go to the USDA.gov website and search for the new document by name.
Have a safe and healthy summer!
Barry Scher is associated with the public policy firm of Policy Solutions LLC and can be reached at [email protected].